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US, China up the ante in courting ASEAN at summit
ASEAN leaders welcomed United States President Joe Biden as the first American leader to attend the ASEAN Summit in four years, but Washington must put in more effort to catch up to China in wielding influence in the region.
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (center) takes part in the ASEAN-Australia Summit on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, held online via a live video conference in Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan on Oct. 27. (AFP/Handout)
T
he United States, China and other regional powers pledged to raise their commitments to Southeast Asia this week as ASEAN hosted external partners amid a “trust deficit” brought about by the heated superpower rivalry.
ASEAN leaders welcomed US President Joe Biden as the first American leader to attend the annual summit in four years when his predecessor Donald Trump notoriously decided to skip subsequent events after attending his one and only summit in the Philippines in 2017.
Biden told ASEAN leaders that the US plans to provide up to US$102 million in new initiatives to support the region’s recovery from COVID-19, address the climate crisis, promote economic growth and develop human capital.
He also said at the virtual meeting that the US-ASEAN partnership was essential for maintaining “a free and open Indo-Pacific” and that the two sides needed to continue working together in responding to various challenges.
“Our bottom line is that ASEAN is essential [...] to the regional architecture of the Indo-Pacific, and the United States is committed to ASEAN’s centrality [...] It is a lynchpin for maintaining the resilience, prosperity and security of our shared region,” the US leader said at the meeting on Tuesday evening, according to a statement issued by the White House.
Previously, analysts said Biden’s meeting with ASEAN leaders reflects US efforts to engage allies and partners in a collective effort to push back against China, although some note that Washington was currently on the back foot.
In his opening remarks, Biden avoided specific mention of China, as have US officials in the run-up to the meetings as they work to set up a virtual summit between the US president and Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this year.
