The U.S. isn't ignoring ASEAN

The U.S. isn't ignoring ASEAN

Felix Soh, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

As someone who enjoys long-distance running, it is natural for
Robert Zoellick to go the distance when it comes to promoting
America's interests.

The wiry U.S. Deputy Secretary of State is accustomed to
living out of a suitcase as he shuttles from one country to
another.

When he was working for the administration of Bush Senior, the
Harvard-educated lawyer chalked up tens of thousands of frequent-
flyer miles by traveling all over the world to promote U.S.
global economic policy.

His latest shuttle, which ended in Singapore this week, was no
exception. It saw him traversing six ASEAN countries in one week.

Zoellick is described as a "can-do" member of the Republican
foreign policy elite who always keeps his eye on the prize --
American global hegemony and the interests of corporate America.

This was his focus as he embarked, on May 4, on his journey to
Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore -- a trip which was billed by the Americans as "laying
the foundation" for stronger U.S.-ASEAN ties in President George
W. Bush's second term.

The Zoellick road show was an important signal from Washington
that South-east Asia was not being ignored by the world's No. 1
superpower.

Under normal circumstances, Washington would have dispatched
the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific.
But this time, it sent big-caliber artillery.

Zoellick is not just the United States' second-ranking
diplomat. He is also influential in his own right in political
and economic circles.

He has close ties with the Bush family, having faithfully
served both Bush Snr and Bush Jnr. He was adviser to the latter
when he was governor of Texas and was his foreign policy adviser
when he was running for the presidency.

At each ASEAN capital, Zoellick had access to all the top
leaders. He was media friendly and media savvy. He held press
conferences and roundtables where he delivered quotable, if not
uncontroversial, soundbites.

Except for the inevitable swipe at Myanmar's ruling junta,
there were none of the usual asides about human rights and
reminders about democratic reforms that American officials are
fond of.

At some pit stops, he even delivered more than soundbites. In
Indonesia, he committed an additional US$73.7 million (S$120
million) in economic development aid. In tsunami-hit Aceh, he
signed an agreement to build a $245 million road hugging the
province's west coast.

However, when he wanted his comments to carry some sting, he
did not hesitate to do so -- and did it quite masterfully,
without appearing boorish or offensive.

For instance, when touching on Indonesia's disbursement of
tsunami aid, which had come under criticism for being slow and
susceptible to corrupt practices, he said: "The world's eyes are
on Indonesia in the expenditure of funds. They have been
extremely careful."

In Malaysia, where he was the highest-ranking U.S. official to
visit since 2002, an agreement was inked to extend by 10 years an
arrangement allowing for the refueling of U.S. military aircraft
as well as coordination of bilateral and multilateral emergency
relief operations.

Significantly, he steered clear of contentious issues, such as
joint anti-piracy patrols with the Malaysian Navy in the Malacca
Strait, which Kuala Lumpur is steadfastly against.

There is no doubt that Zoellick's ASEAN swing was a display of
aggressive diplomacy.

But coming just one week after Chinese President Hu Jintao's
visit to Indonesia and the Philippines, it invariably raised the
question of whether the U.S. was trying to play catch-up with
China, which is on a charm offensive in the region.

In his stopovers in Indonesia and the Philippines, Zoellick
was actually retracing a path already trodden by Hu, whose
accomplishments during his visit to the two countries appeared to
have had more impact and substance.

In Indonesia, Hu signed a strategic alliance which would
increase bilateral trade from $14 billion to $20 billion. In the
Philippines, he announced loans and investments worth $1.62
billion.

During Hu's visit to Indonesia, the possibility of China
providing arms and military supplies to the country was also
broached.

Indonesia's military cooperation with the U.S. is in limbo
because of its armed forces' complicity in atrocities in the
former East Timor and the killing of two Americans in Papua
province.

Political commentators have pointed out that China has gained
ground in Southeast Asia at the expense of the U.S., which was
distracted by its war in Iraq.

Was Zoellick's visit aimed at recapturing strategic ground
lost to Beijing? In an interview with The Straits Times, during
the Singapore leg of his visit, he denied that China was a factor
in his visit.

He said: "One should put my visit in context. At the start of
President Bush's second term, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
suggested that I should visit our friends. I've studied and
worked in the ASEAN region for 30 years.

"The purpose of my visit is to listen and learn. I want to lay
the foundation for stronger ties with ASEAN in President Bush's
second term. I was pleased with the opportunity to reconnect with
a number of Asian leaders and I benefited from hearing their
ideas. In particular, I wanted to highlight the need to continue
to have intense efforts against terrorism."

He was also asked to respond to comments that the U.S. would
not countenance any challenge to its position as the No. 1
superpower and, as such, wanted to check the growing economic and
political influence of China.

Said Zoellick: "The U.S. is a global power in economic and
security terms. We have security treaties with many countries in
the region. We also have strong military relationships with some
of them, such as Singapore.

"It is entirely natural that China has grown and become more
open in trade and finance. It will play a larger role in the
region. It is wrong to suggest that this could be limited."

He added: "But there are different dimensions. For instance,
the U.S. demonstrated during the Dec. 26 tsunami that no country
has the same global reach in our humanitarian and reconstruction
contribution. We donated aid worth $1.3 billion."
In assessing Zoellick's carefully-planned trip, the conclusion is
that it definitely succeeded in raising the U.S. profile in the
region.

The ASEAN media gave his visit good coverage. A pity, though,
that this was not the case with the American press, which was
preoccupied with suicide bombings in Iraq and the North Korean
nuclear issue.

Ultimately, it is not a bad thing for the ASEAN countries that
the U.S. and China are vying for their attention, as long as it
does not destabilize the region but gives a boost to its trade
and economic development.

A variation on a Swahili proverb that is popular with
politicians and diplomats during the Cold War era perhaps sums up
the situation best.

According to the proverb, when elephants fight, the grass gets
trampled. When elephants make love, the grass also gets trampled.

For the region, the two elephants -- the U.S. and China -- are
neither fighting nor making love. Instead, they are treading
gingerly to ensure that as few blades of grass are crushed as
possible.