The United States will keep its focus on the Indo-Pacific despite the Ukraine crisis, the White House Indo-Pacific policy coordinator said on Monday, adding Washington has been deeply engaged in two theaters simultaneously before, including during World War Two and the Cold War.
“It’s difficult. It’s expensive. But it is also essential, and I believe that we’re entering a period where that is what will be demanded of the United States and this generation of Americans,” the official, Kurt Campbell, told an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
“There is a deep recognition and intention here inside the government, in the White House, to sustain every element of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific,” Campbell said.
Campbell said coming months would show U.S. “determination” to sustain high-level engagement with the region President Joe Biden has declared a priority for policy and resources in pushing back against China’s expanding influence.
Biden plans to host a summit with Southeast Asian leaders in March and attend a summit of the Quad grouping of the United States, Australia, Japan and India in May. read more Campbell said Biden would travel too for meetings involving Southeast Asian states this year.
