Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Laos in office, touching down in Vientiane late on September 5 for a summit of East and South East Asian leaders. / AFP PHOTO /
VIENTIANE, Laos (AFP) — Barack Obama, on his final visit to Asia as US president, insisted Tuesday renewed American engagement with the region would endure after he left the White House.
“America’s interest in the Asia-Pacific is not new. It’s not a passing fad. It reflects fundamental national interests,” he said in a speech in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
The US president is making his 11th and last trip to the Asia-Pacific, seeking to cement a “pivot” to the region that has been a hallmark of his eight-year administration.
During his speech in Laos, Obama took time to summarize that policy, which has often been distracted by protracted violence and instability in the Middle East.
“As president, a key priority of my foreign policy has been to deepen our engagement with the nations and peoples of the Asia-Pacific,” he told delgates, adding that he remained “confident” the new engagement would last.
Obama trumpeted increased military cooperation with countries such as the Philippines, Singapore and India, as well as a push for greater trade with the region, and vowed this would continue.
“We are here to stay. In good times and bad, you can count on the United States of America,” Obama said.
Obama also addressed concerns in China, which has watched the US pivot with suspicion while pursuing its own increasingly muscular foreign policy in the region.
“The United States and China are engaged across more areas than ever before,” Obama told delegates.
He added that Washington “welcomes the rise of a China that is peaceful, stable and prosperous and a responsible player in global affairs because we believe that will benefit all of us”.
But he also reiterated his steadfast support for access to disputed waters in the region which China claims as its own.
“Across the region, including in the East and South China Seas, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows and support the right of all countries to do the same,” he said.
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