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Kok Xinghui

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will travel to Washington this week to join Southeast Asian leaders in a previously delayed summit with President Joe Biden, the city state’s government said on Monday.
Lee last visited the US capital from March 26 to April 2, around the time when the US-Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held.
The meeting was postponed after some leaders of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations indicated they were unavailable during the period.
Lee proceeded with the visit and met Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, before also travelling to New York, where he met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the Ukraine-Russia war and other matters.
What Biden’s talks with Singapore’s Lee say about US Indo-Pacific focus
A statement from Lee’s office on Monday said the leader would take part in Asean’s talks with US officials to review the Asean-US Strategic Partnership.
Asean leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues, the statement said. The leaders will attend meetings with cabinet secretaries and Harris, and also be hosted to separate working lunches by Harris and US Congressional leaders led by the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Only eight of the 10 Asean leaders will attend: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte – whose successor is being elected by citizens in Monday’s election – said in late April that he was skipping the meeting as he did not want to make decisions that his successor would have to abide by.
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the son of the country’s late dictator, is poised to win Monday’s vote.

Also not attending the meeting is Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has been sidelined from the bloc because of his non-adherence to a peace plan he had agreed with Asean following his seizure of power in February last year.
This week’s meeting is the first that a US president is hosting for Asean leaders since 2016, when then-President Barack Obama convened a two-day summit in California.
Former President Donald Trump had planned a summit with the bloc outside Las Vegas in early 2020, but that meeting was derailed by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said in an earlier statement that the upcoming summit would demonstrate the US’ “enduring commitment to Asean”.
Singapore’s Lee cautions US against ‘everyone but China’ stance in Asia
Since taking office, the Biden administration has ramped up its interactions with Southeast Asia, marked by several high-profile visits last year including Vice-President Kamala Harris’ tour to Singapore and Vietnam.
But the US resolve has been increasingly questioned – especially in recent months – following the onset of the US-Ukraine war and concerns about the growing global inflation crisis.
In this visit, Lee will be accompanied by Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Foreign-policy observers in the city state had previously said it was highly likely that Lee would make a second trip to Washington for the Asean summit even though he had called on Biden in March.
While the republic professes a balanced foreign policy embracing all major powers including China, it has particularly strong strategic ties with the US.
It hosts a logistics facility for US forces in Asia, and the US has previously rotationally deployed littoral combat ships from the republic to the disputed South China Sea.

Like his late father Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore’s independence leader, current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong is regarded in Washington’s strategic circles as an important sounding board for Asia policy.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board during his March visit, Lee said it was important that the US refrained from asking Asian nations to reject China’s overtures of cooperation. Instead, the US needed to maintain “an overlapping and constructive engagement in the region” as it worked out how to deal with Beijing in a way that did not destabilise the global system, he said.
During this week’s summit, Biden is expected to pitch to Asean leaders his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a broad plan to strengthen US economic presence in Asia.


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Singapore

Singapore’s PM Lee to travel to Washington for US-Asean summit weeks after meeting Biden

US President Joe Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a joint press conference in Washington on March 29, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE 

Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jnr is expected to win the May 9 election. Photo: EPA-EFE

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will travel to Washington with PM Lee Hsien Loong. File photo: AFP 

Singapore’s Lee cautions US against ‘everyone but China’ approach in Asia engagement, says ‘more pleased’ if Hong Kong expats stayed put

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at an event in Washington last month. Photo: EPA

People pictured wearing face masks in Hong Kong last month. Lee said the departure of expats from the city ‘tired of Covid-19 restrictions’ was only short term. Photo: EPA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, centre, walks near what state media claimed was a new type intercontinental ballistic missile before its test launch in March. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

Singapore PM’s talks with Biden show US won’t waver from Indo-Pacific focus to counter China amid Russia-Ukraine conflict: analysts

US President Joe Biden (R) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (L) of Singapore shake hands after making a joint press statement on Tueday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore held a bilateral meeting on Tuesday to discuss a broad range of issues such as trade and security. Photo: EPA-EFE

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister, speaks during a meeting with US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg

A US Marine Corps F-35B joint strike fighter jet conducts aerial manoeuvres during aerial refuelling training over the Atlantic Ocean. Singapore recently bought F-35 fighter jets from the US. Photo: Reuters/US Marine Corps/Handout 

Singapore and New Zealand have ‘vested interest’ in stable US-China ties, Lee says during Ardern’s Asia trip

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: Bloomberg

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern inspects an honour guard with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a welcome ceremony at the Istana in Singapore April 19, 2022. Then Chih-Wey/Pool via REUTERS

New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern and Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on April 19, 2022. Photo: Reuters

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern meets Singapore President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on April 19, 2022. Photo: Reuters

New Zealand will begin welcoming visitors from Singapore from May 1, 2022. Photo: NZ Herald

Singapore’s PM Lee says ‘will decide later’ when to hand power to heir apparent Lawrence Wong

Singapore Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. File photo: Reuters

Singapore Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. Photo: EPA-EFE via MCI

China’s Ukraine war stance raises ‘awkward questions’ on territorial integrity, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong says

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at the US Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

US President Joe Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands after making a joint press statement at the White House on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Lee last visited the US capital from March 26 to April 2, around the time the US-Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held
Leaders will review the Asean-US Strategic Partnership, while Biden is expected to pitch his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to deepen US economic presence in Asia


Asean leaders will review the Asean-US Strategic Partnership, while Biden is expected to pitch his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework during the summit.


Singapore’s PM Lee to travel to Washington for US-Asean summit weeks after meeting Biden

Lee last visited the US capital from March 26 to April 2, around the time the US-Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held Leaders will review the Asean-US Strategic Partnership, while Biden is expected to pitch his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to deepen US economic presence in Asia

Lee last visited the US capital from March 26 to April 2, around the time the US-Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held

Leaders will review the Asean-US Strategic Partnership, while Biden is expected to pitch his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to deepen US economic presence in Asia