This week, at an international meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Vice President Kamala Harris will expand her outreach to Southeast Asia in an effort to allay concerns about American commitment to the region that have been raised by President Joe Biden’s absence.
Harris is currently on her third trip to Southeast Asia and fourth overall to the continent of Asia, where she has landed in more nations than anywhere else. In addition to hosting meetings in Washington, Harris has established herself as a vital contact for the administration as it works to strengthen a network of alliances to counterbalance Chinese influence.
As she gets ready for a difficult campaign year, Harris can further establish her credentials in foreign affairs with this most recent trip. Republicans running for president have already attacked her, claiming that she is unprepared to take over if Vice President Biden, the oldest president in American history, is unable to complete a second term.
The vice president has “made our alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific a key part of her agenda as vice president,” according to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House on national security, and her schedule is “perfectly in keeping with the issues that she’s been focused on.”
But because Biden will also be in India and Vietnam at the same time, his choice to skip the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has angered some people. Due of his proximity, the president’s absence is “all the more glaring than would otherwise be the case,” according to Marty Natalegawa, a former foreign affairs minister of Indonesia.
Natalegawa said that ASEAN is having trouble persuading world leaders that it merits a key position in the area. This is true despite the fact that the alliance represents more than 650 million people in ten different countries, which together have the fifth-largest economy in the world.
The group has failed to end the civil unrest in Myanmar, which saw a military takeover two years ago and has been excluded from meetings. There was no advancement with the peace agreement struck with the top general of the nation.
Furthermore, ASEAN is divided internally over the global rivalry between the United States and China, and negotiations over territorial claims in the South China Sea are still stuck. While Cambodia continues to be firmly in Beijing’s orbit, several members, such the Philippines and Vietnam, have sought stronger ties with the United States.
We may whine all we want about how other nations treat us disrespectfully or refuse to attend our summits, Natalegawa added. But in the end, it serves as a reflection point.
Natalegawa said that unless ASEAN improves, “we may end up with less and less leaders turning up.”
The notion that Biden was avoiding the group or the area was denied by Kirby, the national security spokesperson.
As Kirby noted, Biden had previously convened the first-ever summit of ASEAN leaders in Washington last year. “It’s just impossible to look at the record that this administration has put forward and say that we are somehow walking away,” Kirby said.
At an event that might not be fruitful on important subjects, according to Ja-Ian Chong, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, Harris’ attendance helps the U.S. cover its bases.
You send the vice president to demonstrate that you’re paying attention, he said.
Harris is due to fly out on Monday and spend two days in Jakarta attending meetings. Although her administration has not yet released a schedule, it is anticipated that she would attend summit activities and have one-on-one meetings with several foreign leaders.
Biden is traveling to India for the annual Group of 20 summit, which brings together many of the richest nations in the world and is a mainstay of any president’s calendar, shortly after Harris returns from Indonesia. He will also make a stop in Vietnam, where he wants to fortify connections with a nation that is an upcoming economic force.
