UPDATE 1-U.S. security adviser O'Brien en route to Vietnam, Philippines

(Adds details)
WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - White House national security
adviser Robert O'Brien is on his way to Vietnam and the
Philippines, countries that share U.S. concern over China's
increasingly assertive behavior and extensive maritime claims in
Asia, the White House said on Wednesday.
Tweets from the White House National Security Council said
O'Brien would meet leaders in both countries "to reaffirm the
strength of our bilateral relationships and to discuss regional
security cooperation."
O'Brien's trip follows a visit to Hanoi last month by U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. That visit came a week after
Vietnam freed a Vietnamese-born U.S. citizen, Michael Nguyen,
who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for "attempting to
overthrow the state."
The former Vietnam War foes now have warm relations in spite
of U.S. concerns about Hanoi's human rights practices.
Washington also has concerns about human rights in the
Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte has been engaged in
a war on drugs in which thousands of urban poor have been
killed, many in mysterious circumstances.
On a visit last year, Pompeo assured the Philippines that
Washington would come to its defense if it came under attack in
the South China Sea, where Manila has competing claims with
China and other countries, including Vietnam.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who was
defeated in his Nov. 3 re-election bid and is due to hand over
power to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, had declared the
Asia-Pacific and competition with China a foreign policy
priority.
Trump faced criticism from former officials and other
commentators for having O'Brien take part in his place in last
weekend's virtual East Asia Summit, on the sidelines of which 15
countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, signed a major
China-backed regional trade deal.
Trump plans to represent the United States at a virtual
Asia-Pacific summit this week in which his Chinese counterpart
President Xi Jinping plans to take part, a U.S. official told
Reuters.