The US and 10 Southeast Asian states will hold their first-ever joint maritime exercises in September, aimed at preventing "wrongdoing" as Washington and Beijing jostle for influence in the region. Washington has traditionally been the dominant naval power in Southeast Asia and its re-engagement with the area comes as a deteriorating trade war with China threatens to engulf the global economy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended a regional summit earlier this month with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a bid to promote the Trump administration's so-called "Indo-Pacific" strategy. Also a source of friction is China's expansive claims to the South China Sea, as the resource-rich waters contain some of the world's most vital commercial shipping lanes.

Despite having conflicting interests with four rival claimants in ASEAN, China last year held a joint maritime drill with the regional bloc. The navies of the US and ASEAN will do the same on September 2, the US embassy in Bangkok announced late Friday, with the exercises launching at a Thai naval base in Chonburi province east of Bangkok.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019