Biden’s Visits to India and Vietnam Crucial in Shaping US Relations in Indo-Pacific, According to Rep. Lou Correa

Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) credited President Joe Biden with making the right call by attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India over the weekend, saying the president’s actions send a key message about the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific region.

“President Biden did the right thing by showing up and showing that we are leaders in the world today, leaders for peace, leaders for democracy, leaders for freedom. And so I’m glad President Biden was there,” Mr. Correa said in an interview with NTD News’ “Capitol Report” on Monday.

President Biden’s visit to the Indo-Pacific region comes at a time of increased competition between the United States and China’s communist regime. While President Biden attended the G20 summit in India, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping skipped the event, leaving the U.S. president with an opportunity to court regional partners without pushback from China.

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“First of all, by President Biden visiting that area of the world, he is there saying ‘I care enough, I believe you are important enough for me to be here,'” Mr. Correa said. “And that’s the right call because, whether you believe one thing or another, it is clear that that area of the world will be the growth center, economically, of the world for the next few decades. We have to be there.”

Mr. Correa noted the Indo-Pacific region has become a major theater of economic growth. While China is currently positioned as the world’s second-largest economy, the congressman noted that India and Vietnam represent two other major economies in the region.

“India is now the fifth largest economy in the world, and Vietnam is also exploding in terms of economic activity,” he said. “And their central role in the area, economically, geographically, is very central and very key.”

Biden’s Vietnam Visit

While the United States is at odds with China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that is not preventing President Biden from forging relationships with other communist nations. Following the G20 summit, the president flew to Hanoi, Vietnam, where he met with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

When asked about the optics of President Biden forging ties with one communist one-party state over another, Mr. Correa noted that China and Vietnam have historically been at odds and are not necessarily politically aligned.

“Not all communism is the same. And I say this to you because Vietnam and China have had frictions, have had small wars across that Vietnamese-China border over their history, especially over the last 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” Mr. Correa said.