Just before the G20 Summit, the ASEAN Summit is being held in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also going to participate in this conference. In this conference, there will be brainstorming on preventing China’s bullying, especially in the Asian region. China dominates the South China Sea by taking its control over small countries in the ocean region. Brainstorming on loosening its grip will be a special topic of the ASEAN Summit. There will also be discussions on the violence happening in Myanmar. When leaders of Southeast Asian countries, led by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, gather for their last summit this year, they will be beset by issues such as Myanmar’s violent civil war, new developments in the disputed South China Sea and long-running US-China hostility. These are issues that are difficult to resolve in the near future. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting will begin in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Tuesday amid tight security.
US President Joe Biden will not attend it, despite his usual attendance at the ASEAN summit. In his place, Vice President Kamala Harris will join it. After Tuesday’s discussions, ASEAN leaders will meet with their Asian and Western counterparts from Wednesday to Thursday. The US and China and their allies have used the meeting to hold wide-ranging talks on free trade, climate change and global security. It has also become a battleground for their rivalry.
That’s why Biden is not going to the ASEAN summit
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to attend these meetings on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. He will meet US Vice President Kamala Harris and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Instead of attending the ASEAN summit, Biden will travel to India to attend the G20 summit and then travel to Vietnam to strengthen ties.
What indonesia’s former foreign minister expressed disappointment over?
Washington has made it clear that Biden is not pushing the group to the bottom based on geopolitical priorities and is trying to further strengthen US engagement with the region. Indonesia’s former foreign minister Marty Natalegawa has expressed disappointment over Biden not attending the ASEAN summit, saying such moves are more worrying for ASEAN’s declining relevance.
Know what are the rules and regulations of ASEAN?
Established in 1967 during the Cold War, ASEAN follows the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of each member country. It takes decisions by consensus, which means that any member can reject any adverse decision or proposal. The rules have attracted everyone from new democracies to conservative monarchies, but have also prevented the group from taking punitive action against state-sponsored atrocities.
Who are the member countries of ASEAN?
Currently, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are asean members. Natalegawa said ASEAN’s failure to prevent Myanmar’s military government from committing human rights violations and its silence over the interception of a Philippine supply boat by the Chinese coast guard in the disputed South China Sea have raised questions about the group’s relevance.
