US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is to become the first member of US President Joe Biden’s cabinet to visit Southeast Asia this week, seeking to emphasize the importance Washington places on fortifying ties in the region while pushing back against China.
The US has put countering China at the heart of its national security policy for years, and the Biden administration has called its rivalry with Beijing “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.
However, six months into his presidency Southeast Asian countries are still looking for details of Biden’s strategy, as well as his specific plans for economic, trade and military engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
Photo: AFP
“You’ll hear me talk a lot about partnerships and the value of partnerships,” Austin told reporters en route to Alaska.
“My goal is to strengthen relationships,” he said.
In a keynote speech in Singapore today and meetings in Vietnam and the Philippines, Austin plans to call out aggressive Chinese behavior in the South China Sea and stress the importance of keeping the wider region free and open.
His trip follows the first visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to China on Sunday and yesterday, and coincides with a trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to India, another key partner in US efforts to counter Beijing.
Experts said Austin’s presence is important to make clear that Southeast Asia is a vital component in Biden’s efforts.
“The administration does understand that this region is critical, so that’s a big part of it: just showing up,” said Gregory Poling, a senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
An Asian diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it appeared the Biden administration was now directing its focus more firmly on Asia after addressing other global issues, such as relations with Russia and Europe.
Austin had been due to visit the region last month, but was forced to postpone due to COVID-19 restrictions in Singapore.
So far the Biden administration has sought to rally allies and partners to form a united front against what it says are China’s increasingly coercive economic and foreign policies.
One pillar of engagement that has been conspicuously lacking has been on the economic and trade side after then-US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact in 2017.
The administration has made clear it is in no rush to rejoin such a pact, which critics say would cost US jobs, but has been discussing the possibility of smaller agreements such as on digital trade.
The Pentagon has completed a study of its China policy and Austin has issued an internal directive calling for several initiatives, but few details have emerged.
The US Navy has maintained a steady pattern of freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, but these appear to have done little to discourage Beijing.
Former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark said Washington was saying “all the right things on competition” with China, but there are questions about how it could “translate words into actions and investments.”
It is still unclear “what’s it’s going to look like in terms of our budget, in terms of our force posture, in terms of our investments in diplomacy and infrastructure, really putting meat on the bone,” he said.
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