President Barack Obama canceled his plan to visit Southeast Asia and attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Indonesia and ASEAN meetings in Brunei.

The cancellation of this trip is due to the government shutdown, according to the White House.

The President decided to skip the entire trip to stay in Washington to continue pressing for a budget bill that would reopen the government, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement on October 3.

President Obama was scheduled to visit four Southeast Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Bruei, Malaysia and the Philippines to discuss economics and security from October 6-12. Earlier on October 1, he cancelled the visit to Malaysia and the Philippines.

According to the White House, Secretary of State John Kerry, already on a trip to Asia, is visiting all four countries in place of the President.