“The risk is that the Sunnylands summit will empower and embolden Asean leaders who have been responsible for jailing journalists, cracking down on peaceful protesters, and dismantling democratic institutions after coups”, said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.
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Economically, the integration of ASEAN nations has been shaped mainly by their role in global supply chains, first in the 1980s by Japanese auto companies, and since then by electronic assembly and textiles. Xi has spoken often of a new model of “great power relations” and a military that is better able to project force outward in the region, and is seeking to back that with economic clout.
Dela Vega said the summit would be like a retreat where the leaders would have the opportunity to discuss economic and political issues. In almost fifty years of its existence, ASEAN’s biggest achievement is avoiding war and a vague sense of collective identity.
Asean countries have a combined gross domestic product of US$2.6 trillion (RM10.9 trillion) as of 2014, and annual economic growth of about 4.6 per cent, and it is estimated that by 2030, Asean will become the fourth largest economy in the world.
Feldman, a former Assistant Secretary of State, does not expect a lot of concrete outcomes from the summit. However, ASEAN may no longer enjoy the touch of personal interest Mr Obama has brought the region.
But the relationship does not stop at trade and institutional capacity-building. And, in September 2015, Brussels finally appointed its first Ambassador to ASEAN – Francisco Fontan Pardo – and created a mission in Jakarta specifically designed to enhance bi-regional relations. But the most promising area for future cooperation perhaps lies in maritime security.
In response, Washington has raised concerns over the on-going conflict and urged that freedom of navigation in the vital shipping lane must be maintained.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will attend the ASEAN-US Summit slated for February 15-16 at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, in the United States. Addressing these issues will take time.
Even countries whose economies rely on China are anxious. That said, China’s dependability as a trading partner is waning. Two other ASEAN members, Indonesia and Thailand, could also soon join the TPP. In this respect, the ongoing arbitration process over the legal status of artificial islands and China’s “ninedash line” is a potential game-changer.
It has never happened before for an American president to invite leaders from the small region located some 14,000km away for a meeting with them only. There was hope that this would begin to change with the United States pivot to Asia in 2009. Because of this, he says, the United States is “firmly in the driving seat of this summit”. It seems that security and economic considerations have now usurped democracy as leading determinants of U.S. foreign policy in the region. The White House now views China more as a regional hegemon.
“The sector has always recovered quickly, and has remained healthy”, he added.
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Nonetheless, some in the USA criticize that ASEAN – an association known for keeping out of the domestic politics of its member nations as well as adhering to the principle of consensus when reaching decisions – is only a debate club without any real political power. The U.S. has invested $259 million in the Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative in the effort to build a shared maritime domain awareness and address complex threats such as incidents at sea, illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, and to collaborate on protecting the marine environment. She also manages regular dialogues with EU’s strategic partners in Asia and coordinates the European Union membership at the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP).
