United States President Barack Obama welcomed the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to a summit on Monday in California aimed at enhancing trade relations and forming a common stand on the South China Sea issue.

While Monday's discussions focused on economic issues, President Obama made important pronouncements on the raging South China Sea dispute in which four ASEAN members have overlapping claims

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Obama said that the United States and Southeast Asian nations have a 'shared vision' of upholding international rules and resolving maritime disputes peacefully.

                                               Shared vision

"Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means," Obama said.

Reports indicate that the Obama administration had sought to get all the ASEAN members to agree to a common stance on the South China Sea issue, but China allegedly applied pressure on Laos and Cambodia not to sign on.

Even before the start of the summit, Obama had already made known his message to China, saying the latter should stop bullying its neighbors in the South China Sea region and resolve the dispute peacefully.

                                            'Explosive and heated'

Tuesday's meet is expected to be 'explosive' and 'heated' as maritime issues, particularly the raging South China Sea dispute, will be exhaustively tackled.

Political observers said the meeting, at the same location where Obama once hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping, was designed to show Washington's role as a 'counterweight' to Beijing.

Obama, whose second term in office will end next year, hopes to spread his US influence in the region as he continues to champion the cause of the ASEAN leaders.

Political analysts said Obama is determined to present the US as a Pacific Power and his meeting with the ASEAN leaders is aimed at cementing that legacy.

TagsSunnydales California resort, South China Sea, Cambodia, china