Afghanistan exit draws spotlight for Harris tour
Vice President Kamala Harris sought to reassure U.S. allies in Asia over America’s commitment to the region, as she faced a volley of questions on Afghanistan during a visit to Singapore.
During a news briefing Monday, Harris pointed to a series of agreements reached with Singapore on cybersecurity, climate and public health as evidence the U.S. is committed to honoring agreements with longstanding security partners in the region.
The vice president said the U.S. was focused on successfully completing the evacuation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have effectively taken control following 20 years of war with America. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong offered to help the U.S. with the evacuation effort.
“Today we are in Singapore to stress and reaffirm our enduring relationship to this country and in this region, and to reinforce a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to reaffirm our mutual interests in peace and stability in Southeast Asia,” Harris said in a joint briefing with Lee.
The U.S. has faced criticism even from its allies for the chaos in Afghanistan as it withdraws troops from the country. President Biden has stood by his decision, and said American intelligence assessments didn’t foresee such a rapid advance by the Taliban and collapse of the Afghan military.
Singapore’s Lee emphasized the importance of America’s role as a “regional guarantor of security and support of prosperity” over the past seven decades in Asia despite “difficult moments” along the way.
“We are watching what’s happening in Afghanistan on the TV screens today, but what will influence perceptions of U.S. resolve and commitment to the region will be what the U.S. does going forward,” Lee said. “How it repositions itself in the region, how it engages its broad range of friends and partners and allies in the region, and how it continues the fight against terrorism.”
On her first full work day in Singapore, Harris and Lee announced a series of agreements between the nations, including a dialogue to boost cooperation on supply chain resilience.
During a visit Monday afternoon of Changi Naval Base, Harris thanked U.S. troops still deployed to Afghanistan, while stressing that the Indo-Pacific region is the key to America’s future interests.
Harris is scheduled to depart Singapore for Vietnam on Tuesday.