The US vice-president's trip to the region falls in the shadow of a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Kamala Harris hopes to reinforce US relations with allies in the region, Singapore and Vietnam
President Obama's had his so-called 'pivot', which was supposed to redirect US diplomacy away from the Middle East towards the Asia-Pacific, and President Trump his 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific', intended to challenge China's expanding influence. Neither strategy went much beyond broad concepts, nor did they reverse the perception of declining US prestige here.
"But in the long term, it depends what they do next. If they follow up on the Austin and Harris visits, stepping up vaccine diplomacy in this region, if they fully resource their Indo-Pacific strategy, this could be a more focused foreign policy for the Biden administration, away from the Middle East and the wars that cannot be won.
President Biden is also pushing for changes to the way global supply chains are structured, to wean US companies off dependence on small numbers of specialised suppliers, many in China. But they are unlikely to feature as much as they did in the soaring speeches given by President Obama on his visits to this region. While his rhetoric about the arc of history bending towards freedom inspired younger audiences, it had little appeal to governments which have become more authoritarian and less tolerant of dissent.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
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