Biden's ASEAN summit does not deliver on it "new era" slogan

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US President Joe Biden said, on Friday, that a first summit in Washington with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked the beginning of a "new era" in the US-ASEAN relationship.

After a two-day meeting, the two sides agreed on a joint 28-point "vision statement" to take the symbolic step of elevating their relationship from a strategic partnership to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" in November.

Concerning Ukraine, they reaffirmed "respect for sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity," using language that, according to a regional expert, went further than previous ASEAN statements. The statement did not specifically condemn Russia for its military operation on February 24.

The summit was the first time ASEAN leaders met in Washington as a group, and it was the first meeting hosted by a US president since 2016.

Biden hoped to persuade ASEAN countries to take a firmer stance against Russia.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Biden described the US-ASEAN partnership as "critical" and said: "We're launching a new era - a new era - in US-ASEAN relations."

On her account, Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the US would remain in Southeast Asia for "generations" and emphasized the importance of maintaining freedom of the seas, which the US claims China is undermining.

"The United States and ASEAN have shared a vision for this region, and together we will guard against threats to international rules and norms," she said.

However, neither Kamala Harris nor Biden referred to China by name.

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam comprise ASEAN. Myanmar's leader was barred from attending the summit due to last year's coup. The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, was represented at the meeting by its foreign minister, who was in transition following an election.

Fueling tensions with China 

New US commitments include the deployment of a Coast Guard vessel to the region to assist in combating what the US and other regional countries have allegedly described as “China's illegal fishing”.

Nonetheless, US spending pales in comparison to China's, which pledged $1.5 billion in development assistance to ASEAN over three years in November alone to combat Covid and spur economic recovery.

Yohannes Abraham, chief of staff on Biden's National Security Council, was named ambassador to ASEAN on Friday, filling a position that had been vacant since the start of Donald Trump's administration in 2017. Biden is also reportedly working on other projects, such as infrastructure investment under the "Build Back Better World" initiative and an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

Despite all the US efforts to bring ASEAN countries closer to the US, they are cautious of siding more strongly with Washington, owing to their strong economic ties with China. Some, such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, have historical ties to Russia while they express enrooted anti-American sentiments due to the US-led expansionist agenda in the region.

Adding up, ASEAN states have been frustrated by the US' failure to detail plans for economic engagement since Trump's withdrawal from a regional trade pact in 2017. 

In October, Biden announced his intention to establish IPEF during a virtual summit with ASEAN leaders.

Only two ASEAN countries - Singapore and the Philippines - are expected to be among the first to sign up for IPEF negotiations, which do not currently provide the expanded market access Asian nations desire given Biden's concern for American jobs, according to analysts and diplomats.