Still, Mr. Biden's decision in his first year in office not to engage in bilateral talks with any of his Southeast Asian counterparts is troubling. By contrast, Biden has met at the White House with the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and India to underscore the importance of the so-called Indo-Pacific region. Southeast Asian interlocutors wonder why they haven't even received a phone call. Similarly, the fact that Blinken has just made his first visit to the region sends another signal that Southeast Asian countries are low on the list of priorities. In one unfortunate episode, a technical glitch prevented Blinken from attending a May video conference of ASEAN foreign ministers, reportedly infuriating Indonesia's foreign minister, who refused to open her own video. Asean countries are sensitive to being ignored or marginalised. In addition, the Biden administration's so-called "democracy summit" in December reinforced Washington's position on who it intends to put first. Only three ASEAN members -- Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines -- attended the meeting, leaving out key U.S. Allies and partners Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Above all, Washington still lacks an "Indo-Pacific strategy," which runs counter to the Biden administration's repeated designation of the "Indo-Pacific" as its priority region and sores confusion among Southeast Asian officials. The interim guidance for the National Security Strategy, released in March, covers the "Indo-Pacific region" but key details are missing. In a speech in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Blinken spoke only of a "vision" for the region rather than a "strategy," adding to the continuing frustration among Southeast Asian nations. Without a serious, carefully crafted strategy, Southeast Asian nations are unsure what to expect from Washington's future presence in the region. There is also widespread concern in South-East Asia about extra-regional alliances that could threaten Asean centrality - the desire to act as a unified bloc - not to mention peace and stability. Take, for example, America's quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India and Japan. To date, no Asean member has joined the group, nor has any explicitly endorsed it. Similarly, a new security pact between Australia, the UK and the US has received a chilly reception in South-East Asia. The deal will initially provide Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines and improve trilateral military coordination. Indonesia and Malaysia have raised concerns, while Singapore - a key US partner - and Vietnam have offered "implicit support". Thailand, a treaty ally of the United States, has remained silent. In general, Asean criticises any further militarisation of the region.
