US President Barack Obama. Photo: AP
US president also withdraws from APEC summit in Bali amid US federal government shutdown victim
WASHINGTON — United States President Barack Obama has cancelled plans to attend an the inaugural US-ASEAN summit in Brunei next week, the White House said in a statement late yesterday (Oct 3) as US government remains shut down.
Mr Obama was due to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bali this weeeknd and the East Asia summit and the inaugural US-ASEAN meeting in Brunei next week.
The decision means Mr Obama will no longer depart tomorrow for what had originally been a four-nation, week-long Asia trip. He had already shortened the trip from four countries to two, cancelling visits to Malaysia and the Philippines earlier this week because of his budget struggle with Republicans in Congress.
“The cancellation of this trip is another consequence of the House Republicans forcing a shutdown of the government,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
“This completely avoidable shutdown is setting back our ability to create jobs through promotion of US exports and advance US leadership and interests in the largest emerging region in the world.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, already on a trip to Asia, is visiting all four countries in place of the president.
The White House said the president had called the Sultan of Brunei and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday night to express his regret. AGENCIES