US President Joe Biden is making a determined bid to smoothen the feathers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ruffled of late by America’s strong advocacy of the Quad and the launch of AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific region. By hosting eight ASEAN leaders for a special summit In Washington, Mr Biden is signalling the realisation in the American policy establishment that the region is likely to be the stage for the most intense aspects of the USA’s looming confrontation with China and it needs to have all allies on board before that starts playing out. With a combined population inching towards 700 million, ASEAN’s 10 member-states together form the world’s fifth-largest economy with a GDP of $3.2 trillion. (Read More)
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