US-ASEAN meeting proved largely symbolic

The first US-ASEAN meeting was hosted by US President Barack Obama at Sunnylands Rancho Mirage in California on Monday and Tuesday, the same venue where US President Barack Obama had his first informal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.

Considering there are territorial disputes between China and some of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the meeting and its location attracted much speculation.

To some in the US, the meeting should be seen as a milestone in relations between the United States and ASEAN, as it is a concrete step in implementing the US' rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific given the importance of ASEAN's role in the strategy.