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China's strengths in Southeast Asia to stay

By Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-05 08:37

Beijing's presence in Southeast Asia is insulated from the United States' apparent renewal of interest in the region, experts said.

The reaction from experts was made after Kurt Campbell, the US assistant state secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, said last week that US President Barack Obama plans to invite all 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the US next year in a move to strengthen their relations.

The invitation will be an unprecedented one for a US president. A US-ASEAN meeting was first planned in 2007 in Singapore, but then US president George W. Bush canceled at the last minute due to a busy agenda.

Jin Canrong, deputy chief of the School of International Studies under Renmin University of China, said Washington is casting more attention on Southeast Asia because of China's rising role there. The US' interest is also spurred by its mediocre performances in fighting terror and on nuclear affairs in Iran and on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Su Hao, director of China Foreign Affairs University's Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, said some of Washington's close allies in Southeast Asia are also calling for the US to return to "balance the impact of China".

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"Just several days ago, Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew warned the US that it risks losing global leadership if it does not remain engaged in Asia to balance China's might," Su said. "It is quite surprising to hear a leader with a deep understanding of China to make such an appeal. But we have to realize that many countries in the region, such as Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, are allies or close friends with the US."

Su said there is no need for China to worry about a potential repositioning of the US in the region, as "such a balanced structure across the Pacific is not a bad thing".

"Besides, China is the major business partner of Southeast Asian countries. The irreplaceable status will not change merely due to the return of the US."

Campbell said Obama would officially announce the invitation during the upcoming US-ASEAN summit in Singapore, scheduled for Nov 15.

Topping the summit's agenda will be a review of relations between the US and the regional bloc in the past three decades, according to Thai newspaper the Nation, while the summit is also expected to discuss a free trade agreement.