According to the draft seen by Thai PBS World, the ASEAN foreign ministers have reached an agreement with the US over the joint vision statement, which contains 27 paragraphs containing 2,695 words, covering the whole gamut of their relations in the coming years. Both the US and ASEAN leaders have to give the green light when they meet late Friday afternoon.
ASEAN leaders met informally on Wednesday ahead of their leaders meeting with US President Joe Biden to discuss the draft vision statement. There were three sensitive issues that both sides have been negotiating over for a long time, namely the situation in Myanmar, the South China Sea and the situation in Ukraine. Earlier, senior officials from both sides agreed on most of the bilateral issues, including fighting the COVID 19 epidemic, economics and connectivity, promoting maritime cooperation, enhancing people to people connectivity, supporting sub-regional development, addressing climate change and preserving peace.