At ASEAN summit, Obama calls for mutual prosperity

Luke Skywalker · Feb 16, 2016

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[h=4]At ASEAN summit, Obama calls for mutual prosperity[/h]President Obama greeted Southeast Asian leaders*Monday by calling their ongoing economic participation "central to the region's peace and prosperity."

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Obama began a two-day summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss issues like economic development, national security and youth empowerment. VPC

President Barack Obama greets Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, at a meeting of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. Obama and the leaders of the Southeast Asian nations are gathering for two days of talks on economic and security issues and on forging deeper ties amid China's assertive presence in the region.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif.*—*President Obama greeted Southeast Asian leaders*Monday by calling their ongoing economic participation "central to the region's peace and prosperity."
At the start of a summit at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage with representatives of the Association of*Southeast Asian*Nations, or ASEAN, Obama highlighted the importance of “accountable institutions” that follow international rule of law.*China, for instance,*has been*constructing islands in an attempt to control shipping lanes that have been kept open in the region by the U.S. Navy.
“Here at this summit,” the president said, “we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld, and where disputes are resolved through peaceful legal means.”
USA TODAY
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Representatives of ASEAN —*which consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam —*have met Obama seven times, but never on U.S. soil. Nearly 10%*of the world’s population lives within those countries, representing a gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion.
The two-day gathering will focus not only on maritime rights, but on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade deal signed by Obama earlier this month and that*includes four of the ASEAN nations. The TPP is intended to further reduce economic barriers, but caused concern over restrictive copyright language and expanded rights of corporations to sue nations whose regulations get in the way of their profits.

President Barack Obama walks out to greet leaders of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. Obama and the leaders of the Southeast Asian nations are gathering for two days of talks on economic and security issues and on forging deeper ties amid China's assertive presence in the region.*(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

Earlier in the day, hundreds*gathered outside the 249-acre estate of Walter and Leonore Annenberg chanting, “Hey hey! Ho ho! The TPP has got to go!”
Fewer than expected protesters braved the record high temperatures, but their signs and message —*overwhelming aimed at human rights abuses in Southeast Asia —*were no less powerful. Some as young as 7 wore bags on their heads to illustrate what happens to those who oppose those governments.
Monday’s guest list at Sunnylands included a Cambodian dictator linked to genocide and a Brunei sultan who’s constructing a system of justice in which blasphemers are imprisoned and homosexuals are stoned to death.
Among the protesters were Top Pipoppinyo, a Thai student with the Educational Network for Global and Grassroots Exchange, and a classmate. Both had been part of extracurricular groups forced underground after Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha came to power and the government began to jail journalists, activists and university students critical of the regime.
Pipoppinyo remembered seeing how another of his classmates had been pulled inside a truck with a black bag over his head. That classmate was beat for speaking out against the government, then released at the police station, Pipoppinyo said. “This was in public!”

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Protesters representing a variety of causes gather to protest near Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, CA, where the US-ASEAN Leaders Summit is being held. Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Others in Pipoppinyo’s circle have been arrested under Article 44 of the National Council for Peace and Order for assembling groups of more than five people in public. They face seven years in prison.
The White House is certainly not in the dark about the kind of leaders it's meeting with this week and justifies the summit as an important step towards reshaping the region in its favor. National security adviser Susan Rice told reporters Monday that “the U.S. will continue, as we do everywhere, to stand up for the rights of all people.”
Amitav Acharya, director of the ASEAN Studies Initiative at American University and a leading scholar studying the region, found Obama’s use of the phrase “peaceful legal means” especially interesting. The Philippines has dragged China into a U.N. court over rival shipping claims.
“Most people hope the court will rule in favor of the Phillipines,” he said. “That would put China on the spot,” officially labeling the country as a law-breaker.

President Barack Obama, center, speaks at the plenary session meeting of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Monday, Feb. 15, 2016.*(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

During a later panel discussion about opportunities*in the region, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker emphasized*at least one advantage*the ASEAN members present. Given the development of digital technology, undeveloped nations can “leapfrog” excessive reliance on fossil fuels or landline communications and go straight to renewable energy and mobile technology, she said.
“The potential for deepening our economic engagement is tremendous,” she added.
But she also spoke of the challenges to modernizing those same countries —*namely a lack of Internet access and a skilled workforce.
Speaking through a translator, Laos’ president, Choummaly Sayasone, called the summit an "excellent opportunity to exchange our views" and said he hoped that it would "also provide direction" in their mutual goal of promoting "peace, stability and prosperity.”
Speaking through a translator, Laos’ president, Choummaly Sayasone, called the summit an "excellent opportunity to exchange our views" and said he hoped that it would "also provide direction" in their mutual goal of promoting "peace, stability and prosperity.”
All countries were represented by their leader, except Myanmar, who sent Vice President Nyan Tun.*Le Luong Minh, the ASEAN secretary general, was also present.
Before the summit began, the president shook hands and took photographs with each head of state. He even*greeted Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo with a few words in Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of the country.
Widodo responded in kind, which prompted the president to ask,*"How is your family?"
Contributing:*Anna Rumer, Brett Kelman and Colin Atagi, The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun.*Follow Jesse Marx and Rosalie Murphy*on Twitter:*@marxjesse and*@rozmurph?
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At ASEAN summit, Obama calls for mutual prosperity

Luke Skywalker

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