US President Joe Biden and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang both spoke at the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh on Sunday, not directly but fleshing out their country’s positions at a forum with Southeast Asian and regional leaders, according to a report by the South China Post, which said Biden said there was a need for respect for freedom of navigation and overflight in the East China and South China Seas.
Biden said the US would “compete vigorously” with China and speak out against human rights abuses while keeping the channels of communication open and ensuring that “competition does not veer into conflict”, said the report, which noted that Biden, who is due to meet President Xi Jinping in Bali on Monday, expressed concern in a separate meeting earlier with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen about “possible activities by China’s military at a Cambodian naval base”. Li Keqiang, meanwhile, said China would treat ASEAN “as a high priority in our neighborhood diplomacy”.
Read the full report: South China Morning Post.
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