Opinion | Biden tells summit: ASEAN at heart of US regional policy
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
In sociology theory there exists one key concept, the definition of the situation, which states: "When people define situations as real, they become real in their consequences", according to W.I. Thomas, a prominent American sociologist in the tradition of Symbolic Interactionism.
For US president Joe Biden, it is tantamount to saying that his presence marks the importance of the issues that he has highlighted, and that these issues include the South China Sea dispute, the Myanmar issue, etc.
He is also telling the congregation that by declaring the stakes of the United States, he is jettisoning Washington's weight as equal to that of Beijing as far as ASEAN is concerned.
The geopolitical parameter of American interest in the region is also spelled out: It includes economic development; political activities; and the security of its allies such as Japan and South Korea, which are feeling the pinch of North Korea, which has been launching missiles to the Sea of Japan.
While China is trying to accommodate US presence in the Asia-Pacific region, it has diplomatically demonstrated to Hillary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State that any dispute between China and an ASEAN member such as Vietnam, which was chairing the ASEAN meeting in Hanoi, should be managed by the two Asian countries through diplomatic resolutions.
Incidentally, this illustrates how China defined the situation that involved dispute in the South China Sea; it is setting a precedent.
US President Defines Situation that Includes ASEAN and the South China Sea
US President Joe Biden yesterday said the embattled ASEAN bloc – facing questions about its unity – was at the heart of Washington's Asia policy and promised closer collaboration on major regional challenges such as Myanmar's post-coup violence and the South China Sea dispute.
In his remarks during talks with nine of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nation member states' leaders in Phnom Penh, Biden said his presence at the meeting was "testament to the importance of United States places on our relationships with ASEAN".
"ASEAN is the heart of my administration's Indo-Pacific strategy. And we continue to strengthen our commitment to work in lockstep with an empowered, united ASEAN" he said.
The US president also announced the launch of the US – ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which expands multilateral cooperation in areas including climate change and the environment.
The partnership puts Washington's relationship with ASEAN on the same level as China.
The pact sought to defend against "threats to the rule of law" and "build an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure", Biden said, adding that the agreement marked a "new era" in US-ASEAN ties.
"I look forward to continuing our work together with ASEAN and with each one of you to deepen peace and prosperity throughout the region to resolve challenges from the South China Sea to Myanmar and to find innovative new solutions to shared challenges," he said in brief remarks televised to the media before closed-door talks began.
The Myanmar Crisis is Included in Biden's Definition of the Situation
The Myanmar crisis and the years-long territorial and maritime dispute between ASEAN states and Beijing over the South China Sea were expected to be part of the agenda during the US president's talks with the bloc leaders.
Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing did not have a seat at the table as part of an ASEAN consensus that junta leaders should be sidelined from meetings until they commit to implementing a previously agreed peace plan.
Biden's presence in Cambodia marks only the second time since 2017 that a US president was at ASEAN'S end-of-year summit, which includes today's East Asia Summit (EAS) involving all of the bloc's key global partner.
Premier Li Keqiang will also be present at the meeting. Tomorrow, Biden will arrive in Bali for face-to-face talks with President Xi Jinping ahead of the two-day Group of 20 summit on the Indonesian resort island.
Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan yesterday said the US president would tell Xi during their meeting that North Korea's missile provocations risked increasing the US military presence in the region.
Phnom Penh, hosting the first full-scale ASEAN since 2020, was a hive of diplomatic activity yesterday with top officials from around the world, including United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, present ahead of the EAS.
Guterres said the international community including the UN had failed Myanmar, and he hoped ASEAN would be able to compel the junta there to abide by the so-called Five-Point Consensus peace plan forged in April 2021.
Also present was Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba who called on ASEAN to take a firmer stance Russia for its invasion of his country. Ukraine this week became a signatory to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a symbolic peace accord dating back to 1976.
CONCLUSION
By defining the situation in the Asia-Pacific as real, the American president is telling China and the ASEAN members in a symbolic way that Washington is showing keen interests in whatever matters that America has defined as a situation of concern that is real and consequential.
For example, the hidden message from Washington is that the situation in Myanmar is one which the Americans will take to heart, and that it is keeping an eye on it, and seeing how the matter develops.
The Myanmar situation, like the Taiwan issue, is one more card that Joe Biden has in his hand. How he wants to play this card will depend on the needs of his nation, like the Ukraine card which he has been playing to sidetrack the domestic issues of the day, and to shore up his personal image as a NATO commander-in-chief, and successfully rallying the support of its European allies.
Biden can fool the European leaders once; however, the hardships that his decision brings serve as a wakeup call for European leaders, who are now turning to China.
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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