US - ASEAN Leaders Summit Tuesday February 16,2016

 

President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders will discuss Today a common response to a key United Nations court ruling on China's island-building when they meet in the United States.

The White House, betting that China does not want to be seen as a regional bully, has mustered an informal coalition of Pacific allies to demand that Beijing respect the rule of law.

Obama is hoping to secure a united front against China's territorial ambitions as the US hosts representatives from 10 ASEAN countries at Sunnylands.

The secluded, sprawling California desert retreat has been beloved by US presidents since Dwight Eisenhower.

The UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration is expected to decide in April or May whether China's claim to a vast expanse of sea inside a "nine-dash line" has legal merit.

China has also increased its military presence in these areas subject to myriad territorial claims.

A collective US-ASEAN endorsement of the court's verdict -- whatever the outcome -- would heap pressure on China, which refuses to recognize the court.

The White House sees this summit, and the prestigious venue, as an opportunity to champion Obama's "pivot to Asia" and ASEAN's growing importance, before the president leaves the White House in January 2017.

"As president, I've insisted that even as the United States confronts urgent threats around the world, our foreign policy also has to seize on new opportunities. And few regions present more opportunity in the 21st century than the Asia-Pacific," Obama said.

"That's why, early in my presidency, I decided that the United States, as a Pacific nation, would rebalance our foreign policy and play a larger and long-term role in the Asia-Pacific."