US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel will travel to Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Laos; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 6 – 12.
The Philippines and the US held the sixth bilateral strategic dialogue in Washington DC on March 17 and 18 to reinforce and enhance the alliance across a broad range of shared interests and priorities
Foreign affairs officials of Singapore and the US affirmed their strong bilateral ties and pledged to strengthen their strategic partnership, during talks in Singapore on January 22.
US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel will travel to Singapore from January 21 – 23 to attend the fourth annual US – Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, Pham Quang Vinh, chaired the regular meeting of the ASEAN Washington Committee (AWC) on January 7, the first meeting since Vietnam assumed the chair of AWC.
The fifth strategic dialogue between Thailand and the US took place in Bangkok on December 16 to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional issues of mutual concerns.
The US on May 21 announced that it will maintain air and sea patrols in
international waters after the Chinese Navy repeatedly warned a US
surveillance plane to leave the airspace above the international waters
in the East Sea.
The US and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have
agreed to work towards elevating the relationship to a strategic
partnership in time for the East Asia Summit (EAS) in November.
US senators testified before the US Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations about the East Sea situation on May 13, expressing deep
concern over China’s massive land reclamation on reef islands in the
East Sea.
US Assistant Secretary Daniel Russel responsible for East Asia and the
Pacific has affirmed the importance of Asia to America as well as the
region’s stability in the US interest.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the US have
voiced their hope for closer cooperation in political-security,
economics and socio-cultural fields at their recent 27th dialogue in
Yangon, Myanmar .
The US opposes all actions aimed at changing the status quo and
affecting freedom, security and safety and is against acts of using
forces and threats to use force in sovereignty disputes, a national
official has said.
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to the US from
July 24-26 is a special event in the relationship between the two
countries, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs Daniel Russel has said.