Skepticism about US influence in Asia-Pacific
(Baonghean.vn) - US President Donald Trump's absence from two important summits in Asia has raised questions about America's right to be a leader in the region, while analysts are skeptical about China's readiness to replace the US in this role.
Regarding President Trump's decision not to attend the East Asia Summit in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Papua New Guinea, Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh asked his American counterparts: "If the US cares about the Asian region, why aren't your leaders here?"
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| US Vice President Mike Pence. Photo: Getty |
Mr Koh, a lawyer and ambassador-at-large at Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said many Southeast Asian partners were uneasy about America's Indo-Pacific strategy, whose primary goal is to contain China.
Meanwhile, Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, commented: "President Trump's failure to attend the two summits in Asia is a missed opportunity. It seems that he is no longer 'committed' to the region - which is contrary to the goal of the Indo-Pacific strategy. I think it seems that Asia policy is being left to Vice President Pence, Secretary of Defense Mattis, Secretary of State Pompeo to shoulder, not to be resolved by President Trump himself."
While President Trump's absence from the Asian summits has raised concerns, analysts have also pointed to the similar absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"It is also worth noting that the Chinese president has never attended the East Asia Summit. Southeast Asian countries have always viewed this as a 'contempt', sending a signal that Beijing refuses to accept its leading role in Asia in the regional institutional structure. Under the administration of President Xi Jinping, who has consolidated too much power to the detriment of Premier Li Keqiang, this is really disappointing," said Aaron Connelly, an expert from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.
In a comment expressing confidence in the US commitment to the region, Mr. Patrick Murphy, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that Vice President Pence's participation in this regional conference is a sign of "the US's continued commitment to the Indo-Pacific region", with three pillars of cooperation in the fields of economics, security and governance.
“This is not a region where any one country has the right to dominate, coerce, bully or set its own rules,” Murphy said. “The rules are set here.”
