By Prashanth Parameswaran
Sources confirm to The Diplomat that both sides are ready to sign the new pact.
The United States is set to elevate its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by inking a new strategic partnership following upcoming U.S.-ASEAN consultations in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, sources confirmed to The Diplomat this week.
The Obama administration has already significantly boosted U.S. commitment to ASEAN during its tenure, including by appointing the first U.S. resident ambassador to Jakarta and instituting an annual summit between the president and ASEAN leaders. But elevating U.S.-ASEAN ties to a strategic partnership would cap these achievements as U.S. President Barack Obama moves into his last year in office and ASEAN prepares to launch a new community by the end of the year.
Conversations about a U.S.-ASEAN strategic partnership have been going on for years, and actual negotiations on the specifics have been occurring for most of 2015 (See: “US-ASEAN Relations: Advances Made But Challenges Remain”). While U.S. officials had confirmed following the 28th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue in Washington, D.C. in May that both sides were working towards the “elevation” of the U.S.-ASEAN relationship to a strategic partnership in time for the East Asia Summit (EAS) in November, few other specifics were disclosed up to this point.
“We’re now ready to take our relationship with ASEAN to the next level,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel had told reporters in a briefing last week ahead of Obama’s trip to the Philippines for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and Malaysia for U.S.-ASEAN and East Asia Summit (EAS) meetings this weekend. Malaysia is hosting these deliberations as this year’s holder of the ASEAN chair which rotates annually
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