US President Joe Biden vows to stand with SE Asia in defending freedom of seas, democracy

President Joe Biden said the United States was deeply concerned by "China`s coercive and proactive actions" across the Taiwan Strait. Tensions between Taiwan and China have escalated in recent weeks as Beijing raises military and political pressure.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the United States would stand with Southeast Asian allies in defending freedom of the seas, democracy and human rights and backed efforts to hold the Myanmar junta accountable to its commitments to peace.

Southeast Asia has become a strategic battleground between the United States and China, which controls most of the South China Sea and has turned up military and political pressure on fiercely democratic Taiwan, a self-ruled island it considers its own.

Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on Wednesday at a virtual regional summit to establish a "comprehensive strategic partnership", a sign of Canberra`s ambition to play a bigger role in the region.