WASHINGTON — The United States will continue to push back against Beijing’s “false maritime claims,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in response to China’s newly released 2023 map that has drawn the ire of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
In an interview with VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara on Friday, Kirby spoke about expectations for President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the G20 summit in New Delhi, followed by a visit to Hanoi, where the U.S. is expected to upgrade bilateral ties with Vietnam. He also previewed Vice President Kamala Harris’ upcoming engagement with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
VOA: We are hearing that [Chinese] President Xi Jinping may not be attending the G20. President Biden said that he hopes that he will still attend. Is there a sense that the president’s disappointed? Was there a Biden-Xi meeting that is now not going to happen?
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator: As far as I know, there hasn’t been a formal decision made by the [People’s Republic of China]. We’ll certainly leave it to them to talk about his attendance plans. As the president said, we certainly hope that President Xi would attend.
G20 is an important forum, and this year there’s a focus on improving economic cooperation around the world. So clearly, there will be a role for the PRC, and we would hope that he will take advantage of that.
Source : VOA News
