US officials seem to have a predilection for doing rubber chicken circuits in Southeast Asia. There is little pause between one speak-and-eat arrival and the next. Secretary of State Antony Blinken being the latest, arriving in Indonesia for the start of a three-nation tour to Southeast Asia on Monday.
Even before he set foot on Asian soil, speculation was rife that apart from strengthening the US' engagement with the region, Blinken also intended to use the occasion to keep hammering at the wedge the US is trying to drive between China and countries in the region.
On Tuesday, he delivered a speech in which he pledged, among other things, that the US will develop a comprehensive Indo-Pacific economic framework, answer the region's calls for more direct foreign investment and donate 1.2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to the region by the end of the next year. And yes, China did feature prominently in his speech.
The US promises, though beneficial to the region if they are honored, were woven into a deliberately crafted US narrative scapegoating and smearing China, with Blinken promising that "the US, other countries and South China Sea claimants will continue to push back on unlawful behavior", with the alleged goal of defending the rules-based order.
There were more blatant accusations intended to defame China, such as "China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea threaten the movement of $3 trillion of trade each year". This assertion being made despite the fact that China has never hindered trade and the only threats to commercial shipping come from the lax naval discipline and wayward navigation of US vessels, which have been responsible for a number of fatal accidents in recent years.
As such, there is good reason for countries in the region and beyond to deride the US' hypocrisy as its top diplomat said that the US does not want conflict in the Indo-Pacific and that "it is not about a contest between a US-centric region or a China-centric region".
Since the Barack Obama administration implemented a "pivot to Asia" policy to contain China, Southeast Asia has assumed greater prominence in the US' geopolitical playbook.
Its successor, the Donald Trump administration, instigated fiercer confrontation and competition to counter China's influence in Southeast Asia, due to its geographical proximity to the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits, and the Joe Biden administration has intensified that approach.
This provides a lens with which to see that however artful the talk of the whistle-stopping US visitors, it does not change the fact that China, for decades, has remained a good neighbor and trustworthy and reliable partner for Southeast Asian countries through thick and thin.
In contrast, the pork barrel promises of the US come with strings and hooks attached as they are simply bait with which the US is fishing for its own interests in the region.