WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris He will deepen his rapprochement with Southeast Asia this week at an international summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will try to erase doubts about the United States’ commitment to the region raised by the absence of President Joe Biden.
It is Harris’ third trip to Southeast Asia and fourth to Asia overall, and he has landed in more countries there than on any other continent. The repeated visits, as well as meetings he has organized in Washington, have positioned Harris as a key interlocutor for the administration as he tries to bolster a network of partnerships to counter Chinese influence.
This latest trip is another opportunity for Harris to hone his foreign policy credentials as he prepares to a year of painful campaign. She has already come under fire from Republican presidential candidates who say she is not prepared to step up if Biden, the oldest US president in history, is unable to finish a second term.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said Harris has “made our alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific a key part of her agenda as vice president,” describing her itinerary as “perfectly in keeping with the issues you’re addressing.” been focused.”
But Biden’s decision to bypass the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, has caused some frustration, particularly since he will already be in India and Vietnam at around the same time. The proximity of the president makes his absence “even more glaring than would otherwise be the case,” said Marty Natalegawa, a former Indonesian foreign minister.
However, Natalegawa admitted that ASEAN is struggling to convince world leaders that it deserves to play a central role in the region. This is despite the fact that the alliance represents more than 650 million people in 10 countries that together have the fifth largest economy in the world.
The organization has not resolved civil conflict in Myanmar, which suffered a military coup two years ago and has been withdrawn from its meetings. A peace plan reached with the country’s top general did not lead to any progress.
finished negotiations Territorial claims in the South China Sea They also remain deadlocked, with ASEAN facing internal disagreements over global competition between the United States and China. Some members, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, have sought closer ties with Washington, while Cambodia remains firmly in Beijing’s orbit.
“We can complain all we want about other countries not respecting us or not attending our summits,” Natalegawa said. “But ultimately, it’s actually a food for thought.”
Unless ASEAN becomes more effective, Natalegawa said, “we may end up with fewer and fewer leaders showing up.”
Kirby, the national security spokesman, rejected the idea that Biden was snubbing the organization or the region.
“It’s just impossible to look at the record that this administration has put out and say that we’re somehow drifting away,” Kirby said, noting that Biden already hosted Washington’s first summit with ASEAN leaders last year.
Ja-Ian Chong, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said Harris’ presence helps the United States cover its bases at an event that may not prove productive on key issues.
“If you want to show you’re paying attention, send the vice president,” he said.
Harris is scheduled to leave Monday morning and spend two days immersed in meetings in Jakarta. His office has not yet detailed his schedule, but he is expected to attend the summits and have one-on-one talks with some foreign leaders.
Shortly after Harris returns from Indonesia, Biden heads to India for the annual meeting Group of 20 Summit, which brings together many of the world’s richest countries and is a staple of any president’s calendar. Then plan to stop at Vietnamwhere he focuses on strengthening ties with a country that is an emerging economic powerhouse.
“I don’t blame the administration for the choice it made. It’s just unfortunate that they had to make that choice,” said Gregory B. Poling, who directs the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Leaders meet in Jakarta amid increased tension over the South China Sea after the liberation of Beijing. a new official map which emphasizes its territorial claims there.
The map has angered other nations that consider the waters part of their own territory or international pathways. The South China Sea is a critical crossroads for world trade.
US officials and analysts believe that Beijing’s aggressive approach to the region has created an opportunity for Washington to forge stronger partnerships.
“In many ways, the PRC is doing its job for us,” said David Stilwell, using the acronym for the PRC. Stilwell served as Assistant Secretary of State for the Office of East Asian and Pacific Affairs under President Donald Trump.
Although much of Biden’s recent attention has focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he leaves no doubt that he sees China as America’s top foreign policy challenge. He has described much of his agenda, both internal and external, as an effort to discourage Beijing from supplanting Washington as the world’s most powerful force.
Sometimes his warnings take a darker turn. During a recent fundraiser for his re-election campaign in Park City, Utah, Biden described China as a “ticking time bomb” due to its economic and demographic challenges.
“That’s not good because when bad people have problems, they do bad things,” he said.
Harris has previously visited Singapore and Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.
Many of his trips have been geared towards the global rivalry with China.
Speaking from the deck of a US Navy destroyer docked near Tokyo last year, Harris said China has “challenged the freedom of the seas” and “has demonstrated its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbours.”
Harris also became the highest-ranking US official to visit Palawan, a Philippine island adjacent to the South China Sea that has been the front line of territorial disputes. He said that Washington would support the Philippines “in the face of intimidation and coercion.”
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Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan contributed from Jakarta, Indonesia.
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