A region that determines its own future
This piece discusses the strategic importance of the US-ASEAN partnership in maintaining regional stability and economic prosperity. It emphasizes the need for collective action to protect freedom of navigation against geopolitical threats in the South China Sea.
Why it matters
The US-ASEAN relationship is a cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific, aimed at countering regional hegemony.
MANILA, Philippines - The shared interests between the United States and the nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are deeper today than at any point in our nations' histories. For decades, American capital, companies and expertise have powered the region's extraordinary economic rise. As a result, the United States now stands among Southeast Asia's top sources of foreign direct investment and trade - and US commercial activity in the region supported some 625,000 American jobs.
This prosperity has been underwritten by the order and stability guaranteed by American military power. The United States has long recognized that a secure, sovereign Southeast Asia advances the interests of both our nation and the ASEAN powers. As we approach the 50th anniversary of US-ASEAN relations in 2027, America's interest in a prosperous and secure Southeast Asia is stronger - and the opportunities are greater - than ever before.
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