U.S. Policy Toward Asean In The Perspective Of The Indo-Pacific Strategy And ASEAN’s Reaction To It

Since the release of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Report,two Administrations of the United States have pursued the core purpose of ASEAN policies of the Trump and Biden administrations,which is to draw ASEAN to its side and make it obey the United States’ maneuver in the Indo-Pacific region to contain China.The Trump administration’s continued emphasis on the diplomatic philosophy of "America First",its lack of favoring and its contempt for multilateralism,has caused a sharp contrast with the previous administration’s emphasis on ASEAN.The ASEAN policy of the Trump administration can be summarized as attaching more importance to security cooperation with ASEAN countries than political cooperation and encouraging investment in ASEAN countries in the economic field.Although effective in the short term,the framework of economic cooperation is not established in the long term.The Biden administration’s ASEAN policy,which has not been formed due to its short time in office,is generally positive for ASEAN in 2021.Biden’s steady governing style,emphasis on ideology and the preservation of the US alliance system has begun to restore confidence in the US among some ASEAN countries.Help ASEAN economic recovery in the economic cooperation,the United States and the association of south-east Asian nations to establish a new economic recovery plan,for the small and medium-sized enterprises,the ASEAN countries in the second half of 2021 diplomacy by senior officials of intensive visits and frequent high-level meeting to attend,to rebuild relations between the United States and ASEAN,continue to maintain the U.S.military presence in ASEAN,But there is still no effective regional framework agreement and no phone calls or formal face-to-face meetings with any ASEAN leaders.According to the author’s comparative study,the Trump administration’s ASEAN policy is a combination of inducement and pressure with little attention,while the Biden administration gives up ASEAN to a certain extent and woos asean to a certain extent.ASEAN’s overall response to the US policy is to redefine the "Indo-Pacific Concept" and launch the "ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook" to deepen ASEAN’s internal unity and emphasize ASEAN centrality.On the other hand,we need to deepen free trade in the region,accelerate the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP),and more member states are considering joining the Comprehensive Progress Agreement of the Pacific Partnership(CPTPP).In ASEAN,their responses are divided into three categories: Singapore,Indonesia,Malaysia and Thailand’s response is to maintain good relations with the United States and look forward to sino-US detente;Vietnam and the Philippines have promoted upgraded relations with the United States and expect the United States to get tough with China;Cambodia,Laos and Brunei maintain necessary contacts with the United States.If the ASEAN policy of the Trump administration is completely ignored by ASEAN,then the ASEAN policy of the Biden administration only pays attention to some ASEAN countries.While it makes sense from a "return on investment" perspective for the US to prioritize some of the major ASEAN countries,the Biden administration’s differentiated approach to ASEAN countries in the region that the US does not take seriously could make ASEAN more strategically incoherent and more divided.