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Kamala Harris on Monday discussed Christmas shopping and climate change, but failed in her major foreign policy speech to mention the current crisis in Afghanistan.

Harris, who kicked off her week-long Asia tour on Sunday, delivered a sharp rebuke to China for its incursions in the South China Sea, warning its actions there amount to 'coercion' and 'intimidation' and affirming that the U.S. will support its allies in the region against Beijing's advances.

But she once again dodged the most weighty international issue of the moment: Afghanistan. Harris has been criticized in the U.S. for her silence on the issue, leaving the remarks to figures such as Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; and Joe Biden himself. 

Harris, addressing a roundtable of business leaders before her speech, warned that climate change and the pandemic have contributed supply chain issues, The New York Times reported, and suggested parents should consider getting Christmas presents now. 

'The stories that we are now hearing about the caution that if you want to have Christmas toys for your children, it might now be might be the time to start buying them, because the delay may be many, many months,' she said.

'So across the board, people are experiencing the issue. 

'And, of course, the climate crisis is fueling a lot of this. When we look at the stronger typhoons that have disrupted shipping lanes and sea level rise, which threatens port infrastructure as an example. So these are the many issues that are that are causing these disruptions.' 

The vice president is pictured holding a roundtable meeting with business leaders - a meeting at which she warned of threats to the supply chain from the pandemic and climate change, and recommended parents consider buying Christmas presents now

Harris is pictured speaking during the roundtable discussion with business leaders 

Later, in what was billed as a major foreign policy speech, she again failed to mention Afghanistan. 

'We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,' she said. 

'Beijing's actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.'

Harris, who later on Tuesday will travel on to Vietnam, declared that the U.S. 'stands with our allies and our partners' in the face of threats from China.

The speech sought to cement the U.S. commitment to supporting its allies in an area of growing importance to the Biden administration, which has made countering China's influence globally a centerpiece of its foreign policy. 

And it came during a critical moment for the United States, as the Biden administration seeks to further solidify its pivot towards Asia while America's decades-long focus on the Middle East comes to a messy end with the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In her speech, she failed to mention Afghanistan - although she did take questions on it while in Singapore. 

Harris underscored this shift, calling the Indo-Pacific 'critically important to our nation's security and prosperity.' 

The vice president is on her second foreign trip, after a visit to Guatemala and Mexico in June

She said that while the U.S. is focused on closing out its Afghanistan engagement by evacuating as many people as possible, 'it is also imperative that as we address developments in one region, we continue to advance our interests in other regions, including this region.'

Her rebuke to Beijing amounted to her sharpest comments yet on the U.S. foe. 

But Harris was careful to emphasize that the U.S. is seeking greater engagement in the Indo-Pacific region not just to counter China, but to advance an 'optimistic vision that we have for our participation and partnership in the region.' 

In deference to Singapore's staunch neutrality in the U.S.-China dispute, Harris also affirmed that the U.S. isn't looking to 'make anyone choose between countries.'

Speaking in a country that serves as the anchor of the U.S. naval presence in Southeast Asia, Harris emphasized the significance the region holds for U.S. defense. 

She also emphasized the significant U.S. economic ties there, noting that Southeast Asia represents the America's fourth largest export market.

Harris's trip will move on on Tuesday to Vietnam. It is designed to show U.S. commitment to the region, in the face of multiple crises - not least in Afghanistan

Harris speaks to troops on Monday as she visits the USS Tulsa in Singapore - the first stop of her week-long Asia trip

Harris speaks to troops on Monday in Singapore, telling them they are carrying out a vital strategic job

On Monday, Harris told sailors aboard a U.S. combat ship at the Changi naval base in Singapore that 'a big part of the history of the 21st century will be written about this very region' and that their work defending the region was pivotal.

'It is in our vital interest to stand united with our allies and our partners in Southeast Asia in defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific,' she said.

Harris also met Monday with Singapore President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. 

The vice president's office announced a number of agreements out of that meeting aimed at combating cyberthreats, tackling climate change, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and alleviating supply chain issues.

After her speech Tuesday, Harris held a roundtable discussion with business leaders on supply chain issues. 

Later, she planned to travel to Vietnam, where she will meet with top officials Wednesday.

President Joe Biden himself has repeatedly emphasized his focus on China as one of America's main adversaries. 

In recent months, his administration has ramped up outreach to the Indo-Pacific region, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Austin both visiting the area in the spring and summer. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also held a number of virtual meetings with Southeast Asian officials earlier this month.

The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, however, complicated that message of support to the region, raising questions about the U.S. commitment to its allies. 

While Biden said last week that an indefinite engagement would have benefited 'true strategic competitors' China and Russia, China has seized on the images of violence from the evacuation to slam the U.S. for its engagement there.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday that the U.S. had done 'unscrupulous and dishonest things' in Afghanistan and called on the nation to help rebuild.

'The United States is the root cause and the biggest external factor in the Afghan issue,' Wenbin said. 

'It cannot just run away like this.'

But Harris, during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Lee on Monday, said that her presence in the country, combined with the agreements around greater cooperation that the Biden administration has pursued with Indo-Pacific countries, speak 'volumes in terms of the integrity of the relationships that the United States has around the world on many issues.'