White House national security adviser to meet Vietnam, Philippines leaders

White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien is on his way to Vietnam and the Philippines, countries that share US concern over China’s increasingly assertive behavior and extensive maritime claims in Asia, the White House said in a Reuters report.

Tweets from the White House National Security Council said O’Brien would meet leaders in both countries “to reaffirm the strength of our bilateral relationships and to discuss regional security cooperation.”

O’Brien’s trip follows a visit to Hanoi last month by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Reuters added.

That visit came a week after Vietnam freed a Vietnamese-born US citizen, Michael Nguyen, who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for “attempting to overthrow the state.”

Washington also has concerns about human rights in the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte has been engaged in a war on drugs in which thousands of urban poor have been killed, many in mysterious circumstances.

The administration of US President Donald Trump had declared the Asia-Pacific and competition with China a foreign policy priority.

Trump faced criticism from former officials and other commentators for having O’Brien take part in his place in last weekend’s virtual East Asia Summit, on the sidelines of which 15 countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, signed a major China-backed regional trade deal.

Trump plans to represent the US at a virtual Asia-Pacific summit this week in which his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping plans to take part, a US official told Reuters.