US commits to Asean focus as Putrajaya ties hit strategic high

Free Malaysia Today

Ambassador Edgard D Kagan credited the recent improvement in US-Malaysia ties to their joint efforts in resolving the Thai-Cambodia border standoff.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/11/07/us-commits-to-asean-focus-as-putrajaya-ties-hit-strategic-high   Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/11/07/as-kekal-fokus-asean-ketika-hubungan-dengan-malaysia-mengukuh-kata-duta   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews

Transcript

00:00People expect the United States to continue playing a role to promote peace, promote stability,

00:06and promote prosperity around the world. And in order to do that, they're going to be competing

00:11priorities, and that is inevitable. The idea that we're just going to focus on one region

00:16and not others makes no sense. I think the key is how do we balance that?

00:22Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific continue to be strategic priorities for the U.S.,

00:27said Ambassador Edgar D. Kagan, as Washington and Putra Jaya seek to build on the strong rapport

00:32between their leaders. In an exclusive interview with FMT, Kagan dismissed suggestions that the

00:39region was being neglected, despite concerns that domestic tensions and a renewed focus on the

00:44Middle East may be drawing attention elsewhere. My expectation is that in classic fashion,

00:50no matter what the United States does, it will never be seen as quite enough by countries in the

00:56region. And I would also note that it is not a zero-sum game.

01:04For years, regional governments have lamented the strategic vacuum left by the U.S., with

01:09Washington appearing to retreat from global leadership amid ongoing trade wars and rising

01:14security tensions, particularly in the South China Sea. Kagan said President Donald Trump's

01:20latest visit to the region, including to Malaysia, was proof of Washington's resolve to stay anchored in

01:25Asia, with the U.S. choosing the Indo-Pacific as its launchpad for a new wave of reciprocal trade

01:31agreements. Malaysia-U.S. relations reached a new high last month after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and

01:37Trump signed a landmark agreement upgrading relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership,

01:42which Kagan said was strengthened by recent joint efforts to resolve the Thai-Cambodia border

01:47standoff. What we saw in this case was the two leaders really hit it off. What was interesting,

01:54though, was you could see the rapport build over the course of the visit. The relationship clearly

02:01is excellent. You know, they've had a number of phone conversations. I was present for one of the

02:06phone conversations, and it's very clear that they get along very well.

02:10I'm Danis Roger Reza, FMP.

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