Jeff Mason, Michael Martina

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States President Joe Biden announced Friday that a summit with ASEAN leaders in Washington marked the beginning of a new era in relations between the United States of America and the 10-nation bloc.

Biden addressed ASEAN leaders during the second day a meeting of two days. He said that “a lot of the history of the world over the next 50 year is going to happen in the ASEAN nations, and our relationship is the future in the coming decades and years.”

This summit was the first ASEAN leader meeting in Washington as a group and also their first hosted gathering by the U.S. president since 2016.

Biden’s administration believes that it will prove the United States is focused on Indo-Pacific, and China’s long-term challenge. This is despite Russia’s invasion.

Biden stated that a “new era” in U.S. – ASEAN relations is being launched, calling the U.S. – ASEAN partnership “critical”.

Kamala Harris, the U.S. vice president, stated earlier that the United States will remain in Southeast Asia for many generations. She also stressed the importance of maintaining freedom and security at sea, something the United States claims is being challenged by China.

Harris stated that the United States and ASEAN shared a vision of this region and they will work together to protect international norms and rules.

Biden, neither she nor Biden named China. China has been accused by the United States of coercion towards its neighbours.

Harris indicated that the United States would remain committed to ASEAN’s response to COVID-19. It has donated over 115 million doses of vaccine to the region. Harris said that the United States of America and ASEAN must show greater cooperation on climate issues, speed up the transition to cleaner energy and address infrastructure requirements sustainably.

ASEAN countries Brunei (Chile, Indonesia, Laos. Malaysia, Myanmar), the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are represented. However, Myanmar’s leader was expelled from the summit last year due to a coup. The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, is currently in transition following an election.

On Thursday, Biden hosted an event at the White House for leaders. His administration pledged $150 million to areas such as infrastructure, security and pandemic preparedness.

A U.S. Coast Guard vessel will be deployed to the area to counter illegal fishing by China, according to new U.S. commitments.

The U.S. spend is insignificant compared to China’s, which pledged $1.5 Billion in ASEAN development aid over the next three years. This was to combat COVID-19 and to fuel economic recovery.

Biden announced Friday that Yohannes Abraham (currently chief of staff at his National Security Council) will be his new ASEAN ambassador. This is the first post vacant since Donald Trump’s 2017 election. Biden continues to work on other initiatives including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and “Build Back better World” investment in infrastructure. Both are in the final stages.

Gregory Poling is a Southeast Asia specialist at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that the summit was mostly about symbolism, but that economics still remained the missing element. The launch of IPEF will not be announced until Biden’s visit to Japan in May.

“Everyone appears happy, and there is a diplomatic message of engagement. Poling explained that even though $150 million seems modest, it won’t impress anybody. That leaves much riding on IPEF.

Russia’s invasion was also discussed with ASEAN. The United States wanted to encourage ASEAN members to take more steps to counter Moscow.

Many of America’s concerns regarding China’s assertiveness are shared by ASEAN members. This includes its claim to control large areas of South China Sea where Brunei (Vietnam), Brunei (Philippines), and Malaysia all have similar claims. Aufgrund of their strong economic links with China and limited American economic incentives, they remain cautious about allying with the United States more.

The U.S. has been slow to detail plans for economic engagement after Trump renounced a 2017 regional trade agreement.

Biden announced his intention to establish IPEF in October at an ASEAN summit.

Diplomats and analysts have stated that only two out of 10 ASEAN nations – the Philippines and Singapore – will sign up to negotiations under IPEF. This is a program which doesn’t currently provide the market access Asia wants due to Biden’s concerns about American jobs.