COMMENTS / EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Washington’s ‘unprecedented’ ASEAN ties built on rhetoric
Published: Dec 13, 2021 09:41 PM
Illustration: Xia Qing/Global Times

Illustration: Xia Qing/Global Times

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after attending the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting in the UK, is now on a four-day trip to Southeast Asia against a backdrop of Biden's so-called commitment to "elevating US-ASEAN engagement to unprecedented levels." 

Blinken plans to travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, from Monday to Thursday, according to a statement issued by the US Department of State. 

Earlier during the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink's trip to Southeast Asian in late November, he disclosed that the scheduled trip of Blinken to ASEAN members will focus on discussions of Washington's newly announced "Indo-Pacific economic framework" and strengthening regional security infrastructure in response to so-called "Chinese bullying" in the South China Sea, according to media reports.

US senior officials have been queuing up to visit Southeast Asia since Biden took office in January 2021. The accelerating pace of "returning" to the region has been viewed as the US' attempt to counter China so as to maintain its hegemony around the world.

Under an agenda to counter China, the US has been unveiling new plans and narratives, including the Indo-Pacific economic framework, which appears to be a move aimed at shoring up the long-standing weak spot of its Indo-Pacific Strategy, but obviously still lacks solid foundation and practical measures for it to be carried out in a sustainable way.

Strengthening ties with the world's largest economy is undoubtedly a crucial issue for ASEAN members, but what the US cannot change is that the two sides' economic cooperation lacks substance compared to the economic ties between China and ASEAN, not to mention that essentially the US and ASEAN are holding different strategic targets amid their economic ties.

Though Washington has come up with several novel areas for the new Indo-Pacific economic framework, including the digital economy, supply chain resilience, new energy and infrastructure, one thing that is for sure is that potential collaboration will still be based on an "America first" principle, instead of the needs of ASEAN members.

Moreover, struggling in a quagmire of skyrocketing inflation and a huge national debt, it is hard to imagine how the US could offer sufficient funding to push forward its economic plans, or whether Washington's promises can survive possible shifting of ruling parties of the US in the future.

Southeast Asian countries clearly understand the US' intention and which approach best meets the essential interest of their people. What the US wants is a confrontational clique which serves its hegemonic agenda, while the ASEAN members want to avoid becoming a battlefield or a geopolitical tool of the US for it to rival China.

By comparison, China and ASEAN, as neighbors, have now registered as each other's largest trading partner, with mutual trade volume surging 85 times over the past three decades. Along with the continuingly growing two-way trade, industrial chain cooperation and increasing mutual investments have become increasingly strong. 

The US officials may continue line up and make trips to the Southeast Asian countries, but the accelerating integration of value chains across China and Southeast Asian nations, as well as the broader Asian region will be an irreversible trend, especially given the imminent implementation of the mega free trade deal - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Pages of fancy words and phrases won't help the US set up  "unprecedented" ties with ASEAN; and instead of luring others into its anti-China clique, US officials should focus on the development needs of the ASEAN members.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn