The region is currently at the center of competition between China and the United States

On August 1st, the website of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong published an article titled "Report urges the United States to abandon its pursuit of" America First "in Southeast Asia." The author is Kushb Razdan. The full text is excerpted as follows:

In a new report, the American Association for Asia urges that if the United States wants to counter China's influence in the "multi participant" Southeast Asian region, it should abandon the idea of "America first".

The report titled "Prioritizing Southeast Asia in the United States' China Strategy" released on Tuesday pointed out that the region is now "truly multipolar, and China may actually be the primary force in the region", and concluded that "the United States is just one of many regional participants.".

The report was jointly written by the Center for US China Relations of the Asian Association and the 21st Century China Research Center at the University of California, San Diego. The report also suggested that Washington "lower the profile". The report points out that "Southeast Asians see hypocrisy in this solemn statement from the United States and view it as Western rules imposed on non Western countries.".

The Southeast Asian region sits at the throat of global trade and transportation, and is at the center of the competition for influence between Beijing and Washington.

The emblem of the 2023 ASEAN Summit. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Qin

As the United States becomes concerned about China's expanding influence, maintaining a so-called rule-based order to support the "free and open Indo Pacific region" remains a key element of the strategy formulated by US President Joe Biden and his administration for the region.

The report calls on the United States not to view the region solely as a geopolitical stage, "to view and respect Southeast Asia from its inherent values, rather than just looking at Southeast Asia through the prism of competition between China and the United States.". The report requires the United States to "leverage its strengths, maintain confidence and initiative, and adopt a comprehensive and proactive approach to the region, rather than just responding to China.".

Southeast Asian countries that are walking the tightrope in diplomacy are responding to competition between China and the United States with a vague and flexible attitude to avoid taking sides.

In order to alleviate the pressure of choosing sides between two competing global powers, the report recommends that the United States become a "more reliable and well intentioned partner" and intervene in regional economic structures. The economic structure of this region now includes two trade unions that the United States has not participated in: the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. "The United States should join the CPTPP and consider joining the RCEP."

CPTPP originated from the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, and Trump withdrew from this 12 member alliance on his first day as president in 2017. Former US Trade Representative Charlene Balshevsky, who contributed to the report writing, stated that withdrawing from the TPP is "definitely" a factor in Washington's declining economic influence in the region.

Balshevsky stated that China's growing economic dominance has had a huge impact on these countries, forcing them to be unwilling to publicly express themselves.

The Biden administration launched an economic initiative called the Indo Pacific Economic Framework last year as a substitute for these two agreements. US Trade Representative Daisy described the framework as a "non-traditional trade agreement" in May. She said, "We are not just trying to maximize efficiency and liberalization. We are trying to promote sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity."

Naomi Wilson, Vice President of Asia Policy at the Washington based Information Technology Industry Council, noted that Asia Pacific countries are "no longer willing to surrender to the demands of the United States for free.". Therefore, she said that US policymakers "cannot close the door to trade agreements when greater market access opportunities are needed.". She believes that these goals are too important to rely solely on initiatives like the Indo Pacific Economic Framework to achieve the same goals.

In fact, the report suggests that the United States make the Indo Pacific Economic Framework "more practical and credible economically" and "explain its benefits to regional countries in clear language.".

Daniel Russell, former Assistant Secretary of State and Vice President of the Asia Society who participated in writing the report, said that the story of the United States' actions for Southeast Asia has not spread well, at least not to the extent of widespread dissemination and sufficient influence. The report suggests that the United States should also carefully consider initiating negotiations on reciprocal trade agreements with ASEAN or some ASEAN countries to achieve mutual market access. China signed a free trade agreement with ASEAN in 2010. The report also points out that although the United States lags significantly behind China in trade with ASEAN, it remains the number one investor in ASEAN, a fact that has not been reproduced.