Jakarta [Indonesia]: In an attempt to increase engagement in South Asia, US President Joe Biden on Monday said he is looking forward to strengthening ties with Indonesia, one of China’s largest trading partners in the region. Biden’s remarks came during his first in-person meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, Radio Free Asia reported. “I’m looking forward to building more on our bilateral relationship because we have so much that we can work together on and so much in common,” Biden said. “From addressing the climate crisis to ending the COVID-19 pandemic to upholding freedom of the seas, there’s no global challenge today that doesn’t benefit from Indonesia and the US working together,” Biden added. The US and Indonesian presidents also talked about freedom of navigation, economic cooperation, the political crisis in Myanmar, and the coronavirus pandemic during their meeting on the sidelines of the event, Radio Free Asia reported. In response to President Biden’s remarks, Joko said that “Indonesia would become a reliable partner to Washington,” and invited the US to invest in environmentally sustainable sectors in the archipelago nation. “I’m looking forward to US support by investing in our energy transition, especially in low-carbon technology,” Joko was quoted as saying by Radio Free Asia. The Biden administration has been making efforts to engage in the South Asian region as Beijing competes with Washington for economic influence in the region. In October, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during the US-China trade relationship had also lambasted Beijing for unfair trade policies and said that “Beijing’s lack of adherence to global trading norms has undercut the prosperity of the US and other countries in the world.” Tai’s remarks came while she delivered remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) outlining the Biden-Harris Administration’s new approach to the US-China bilateral trade relationship. “For too long, China’s lack of adherence to global trading norms has undercut the prosperity of Americans and other countries around the world,” Tai said.
