Jakarta - Today the Asean bloc in Southeast Asia extended a warm welcome to world leaders gathering in Indonesia's capital for a summit. The summit is expected to revolve around concerns regarding the growing rivalry between the United States and China, which could potentially overshadow regional issues. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has expressed concerns about the risk of being drawn into disputes involving major powers. The summit will see the participation of key figures, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and leaders from partner countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India. Notably absent from the summit are US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
One of the top priorities on the agenda is the apprehension in Southeast Asia regarding China's actions in the South China Sea. This strategic trade route has overlapping territorial claims between several Asean member countries and China. Asean aims to reach an agreement on a long-discussed code of conduct for this waterway.
The United States and its allies share Asean's call for the preservation of freedom of navigation and overflight in the region and discourage the establishment of physical infrastructure in the South China Sea. In contrast, China has constructed various facilities, including airstrips, on small land formations within the disputed waters.
A White House official emphasized that the US Vice President would highlight the shared interests of the United States and Asean in upholding the rules-based international order, particularly in the South China Sea, given China's contentious maritime claims and provocative actions.
Just ahead of this week's meetings, China unveiled a map featuring its "10-dash line," outlining its perceived maritime boundaries, which appeared to expand its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Several Asean member states rejected this map.
Among Asean members, some have developed close diplomatic, economic, and military ties with China, while others are more cautious. The United States has also engaged with Asean countries to varying degrees of success.
A draft statement from Asean, to be issued this week and seen by Reuters, emphasizes the need to "enhance stability in the maritime domain within our region and explore new initiatives to achieve these objectives." However, some experts, such as Lina Alexandra from the think tank CSIS, have criticized the draft as being "weak" on South China Sea issues. She pointed out that the Philippines is growing impatient with Asean's support in addressing South China Sea matters and may turn to major powers for assistance if Asean proves unhelpful.
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, who chairs Asean, cautioned on Tuesday that member states must avoid becoming proxies in the rivalry between major powers.
These discussions on Wednesday follow an Asean-only summit earlier in the week, where leaders aimed to assert the bloc's relevance amid criticism that it has not effectively pressured Myanmar's military leaders to cooperate in a peace plan for the strife-torn country.
Myanmar, an Asean member, has experienced ongoing violence since the military coup in early 2021, which ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Asean has formulated a peace plan known as the five-point consensus, which calls for an end to violence and inclusive dialogue among all parties. However, Myanmar's military leaders have done little more than pay lip service to these efforts. On Tuesday, Myanmar rejected an Asean call for its armed forces, in particular, to de-escalate the crisis. Additionally, Myanmar agreed to pass its turn to chair the Asean grouping in 2026.
Asean consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.