Delhi, Hanoi, but not Jakarta. US President Biden missed surgery
This week's ASEAN meeting and Vice President Kamala Harris' mission
instead of. The prospects are not the best, especially since Biden will be in the region: he will travel to Delhi for the G20 summit, and soon after that to Hanoi.
No matter what anyone says, winning consolation prizes is never fun. And that is exactly how Indonesia feels, the country hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Not only will Biden not be attending the event, but he is being treated with disdain by major regional powers, and with the US constantly saying it wants to build stronger ties with Asia, this seems to be their own goal.
After all, actions speak louder than words. And when someone shows who they are in a relationship, believe in them. The harsh reality is that some Asian countries are more important to the US than others.
“This is a cold and calculated decision to escalate ongoing tensions as part of the consolidation of allies and partners such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and now Vietnam,” said Michael Vatikiotis, author of several books about Asia, including Blood and silk. In: Power and Conflict in Contemporary Southeast Asia. “This is about scaring China, and destroying each country individually is easier than in a multilateral forum where Beijing will be present.”
This conscious choice of allies and partners is the brainchild of Biden's leading Asian political tycoon Kurt Campbell, according to insiders. This is likely to continue, as Campbell suggested during a discussion earlier this year at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The strategy is to build a network around China, a geographic chain of interconnected countries that Beijing sees as a common threat.
One example is the Camp David summit that took place recently between the US, South Korea and Japan. The same goes for Aukus, the US-announced multi-billion dollar partnership with Australia and the UK, and Quad
The group, formed by India, Australia, Japan and the United States, was ostensibly set up to counter China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
It is not easy. Not everyone sees the world in the black-and-white polarized prism that the United States has begun to focus on Beijing. For many countries, China has been and will continue to be the mainstay of the economy, even though it is currently in a recession. And that includes some of the people who are trying to lobby the United States.
In theory, Indonesia should be a natural partner for Washington. It is a large and vibrant democracy with a historically strong military relationship with the United States. But in recent years, under Joko Widodo, the island nation has proved receptive to Beijing's economic initiatives.
It would be a mistake for the United States to let China continue. The duality emerging in Jakarta is understandable as Jakarta is Southeast Asia's largest economy with relatively good prospects. And there is no longer any need to bow to Beijing or Washington to ensure its relevance.
Obviously, multilateralism is becoming less important for the US and China. The United States believes that its strategy of pursuing countries in the region one by one is successful and effective. And if the effort is to counter the role of a major competitor in Asia, then signing a major partnership agreement with Vietnam will be much more profitable than spending a day in Jakarta.
However, Biden's dismissive attitude is not shortsighted. There will be elections in the US next year, so it is unlikely that he will attend the ASEAN meeting in Laos. The era of Trump's withdrawal from trade agreements and his slogan "America first" are still not forgotten. While Biden has managed to convince some Asian partners that the US is back and involved in regional affairs, other countries don't feel the same way. Same.
Relationships, at least good ones, take time, effort, and hard work. Building trust means being honest and sincere in your efforts. A visit to Jakarta would be an easy win for Biden at a time when China's economy is weak. Ignoring this issue gives the impression that America only wants a comfortable relationship with Asia, not a real partnership.
Karishma Vaswani is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Opinions are personal and do not reflect the position of this publication.
Credit: Bloomberg
