This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
Social analysts are critical of U.S. President Joe Biden’s skipping of the East Asia and U.S.-ASEAN conferences, both of which took place on Friday in Laos, because they claimed it was a snub.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken may take his place, according to the State Department, who will speak for the United States at the two gatherings.
” ASEAN is at the center of our U. S. Indo-Pacific Strategy”, director Matthew Miller told a , media briefing , in Washington. Our relationship is essential to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific place, and we are committed to ASEAN’s importance.
Biden has missed the delegations, which are regarded as the most significant gatherings of decision-makers in Southeast Asia, for the second consecutive year.  ,
Leading officials from the 10-member ASEAN team, including the newly elected prime ministries of Thailand and Singapore, may be present at these years’ sessions along with heads of state from discourse partners like Japan, South Korea, and India.
China is represented by Premier Li Qiang, who chaired a China-ASEAN conference on Thursday.
The lack of the U.S. president in meetings with ASEAN leaders does n’t reflect well on the country’s commitment to Asia, according to Thai political analyst and former government adviser Panitan Wattanayagorn.
” Given the upcoming presidential election in the U. S. in early November, most Asian leaders will understand the circumstances ]of Biden’s absence ]”, Panitan told Radio Free Asia,” However, many people will continue to question the U. S. role in Asia, particularly in light of the increasingly confrontational relations with China”.
Snubbing ASEAN?
Barack Obama was the first U.S. president to travel to Vientiane eight years ago when Laos served as the ASEAN rotary chair for an East Asia Summit.  ,  ,
President Biden” cannot use the vote as the reason” to miss this year’s mountain, said Piti Srisangnam, a professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.  ,
” That means you do n’t prioritize the Indo-Pacific strategy, especially when you put ASEAN in its driver’s seat” . ,
Vice President Kamala Harris was upgraded to secretary of state in this year, along with the amount of the United States picture.
Another scientist remarked that this “perceived political bash raised serious questions about Washington’s long-term devotion to ASEAN and the broader Indo-Pacific place.”
Joanne Lin from the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore , wrote , that it “reflects a broader, more concerning craze” that ASEAN continues to take a rear seat in broader U. S. political calculations.
Lin claimed that while Washington was at risk of losing ground in Southeast Asia, Beijing “has been vigilant and consistent in its political work” in the area.
There has been a significant decrease in trust in the United States as a strategic companion and supplier of regional security, according to an A , survey , conducted by ISEAS on the sights and perceptions of Southeast Asians on political developments in the region.  ,
In addition, more people in Southeast Asia thought China was their most effectively important partner.
However, that perception varies from one ASEAN country to another, according to a Taiwanese foreign affairs expert. Washington and Hanoi’s connection last year reached its highest level of complete corporate partnership.
” I have n’t seen any change in the U. S. policy towards East Asia. All the major laws in relation to Taiwan, China, the South China Sea and the Philippines stay more or less the same”, said Nguyen Ngoc Truong, a diplomat-turned-analyst.
” No U. S. president can be expected to attend every East Asia summit” ! ,
ASEAN’s primacy
The U.S. senator is expected to attend more conferences and other significant meetings than other world leaders, according to Greg Poling from the Southeast Asia Plan at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, in Washington. He had promote this task.
According to Poling on , the CSIS website,” ASEAN is still a vital grouping for regional economic integration and diplomatic discussion ( albeit not solutions ), but it is difficult for it to take precedence over APEC or the Quad when it comes to the president’s schedule,” referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the Quadrilateral Dialogue grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India.
According to Poling, the most important benefit of seeing the United States and the majority of other discourse partners attend the ASEAN Summit has been the ability to hold side meetings in diplomatic or “minilateral” formats over the past ten years.  ,
He argued that in public Washington” may set vice presidential picture as the foundation at the U.S. ASEAN and East Asia Summits,” noting that” ASEAN is not the only or even necessarily the best option” also there.
This idea may not be well received in Vientiane, where, according to local observers, ASEAN is “back in driving style” on many issues, including the Myanmar conflict and individual rights, after years of tussle and hostility among important ASEAN members.
” ASEAN is slowly moving back to the center of activity in the region”, said Thailand’s Panitan. Because it continues to work on building consensus, its actions are steady but slow.
” But without real commitments from ASEAN’s key partners such as the U. S., China, Japan, India, and others, it’s difficult to see the real solutions of many important and pressing issues in the region”, he added.