INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's foreign minister on Sunday accused the United States of driving increased militarisation in Southeast Asia, saying that
Washington was trying to contain Beijing and Moscow's influence in the region.Sergei Lavrov was speaking to reporters at Phnom Penh's
and United States President Joe Biden will meet.Earlier on Sunday, Biden said he would establish "red lines" with Xi.Washington is
attempting to boost its influence in Southeast Asia, worried by Beijing's increasingly assertive behavior in the region, which it views as
its strategic backyard.Lavrov accused the United States of pushing the "militarisation of this region, clearly aimed at containing China and
limiting Russian interests in the region."As the Ukraine invasion has ground on, and with Western sanctions biting, Russia has pivoted
ASEAN."The regional summit in Cambodia has been dominated by international concerns, as first Ukraine and then the United States -China
rivalry overshadowed local concerns such as Myanmar.
