SINGAPORE – United States Vice-President Kamala Harris began a trip to Asia yesterday, where she will offer reassurances of Washington’s commitment to the region, after the chaotic US pull-out from the Afghanistan and Taliban takeover.
The hardline Islamists’ swift return to power a week ago, and desperate scenes of thousands trying to flee, have cast another shadow over the US’ status as a global superpower.
But on Harris’ visit, which includes stops in Singapore and Vietnam, she will seek to allay concerns about US dependability.
“The vice-president will make clear throughout the trip that we do have an enduring commitment to the region,” said a senior US official.
Harris, an Asian-American whose mother was of Indian origin, landed in Singapore yesterday and will start her activities tomorrow by meeting the city state’s leaders.
The Vietnam leg has sparked criticism, with some accusing Harris of being tone-deaf for visiting the Communist country as US forces struggle to evacuate Americans, other foreigners and Afghan allies from Kabul airport.
The crisis has prompted comparisons with the trauma of 1975 Saigon, when US helicopters ferried final evacuees from the embassy roof, as Viet Cong troops advanced.
US officials say the trip was planned long before the Afghan debacle, and insist that Harris is focusing on Washington’s broader strategic goals in Asia.
It is the latest visit by a top US official to the region, as President Joe Biden’s administration looks to build alliances against China and reset relations after the turbulent Donald Trump presidency.
Strategic, economic importance
At a time when China is challenging the US’ political sway and naval dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, A White House official, who asked not to be named, said Southeast Asia remains “strategically and economically important to this country”.
“That hasn’t changed with Afghanistan.”
The 10-country region is a growing battleground for influence between the US and China, and Washington has repeatedly criticised Beijing’s expansive claims to almost the entire South China Sea.
Four Southeast Asian states – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – as well as Taiwan, have overlapping claims with Beijing in the flashpoint sea, the home to key shipping lanes.
“Following the previous administration and what’s happening in Afghanistan, it is a categorical imperative for the US to build up political trust in this region,” said Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore consultancy.
During the Singapore leg of her trip, Harris will meet the president and prime minister before making a stop at the Changi Naval Base, where she will address US sailors aboard the visiting USS Tulsa.
She arrives in Hanoi late Tuesday and will be the first US vice-president to visit Vietnam.
Harris will also hold Vietnamese government meetings, attend the opening of a Southeast Asian regional branch of the US Centres for Disease Control, and meet civil society representatives in the Communist country.
She will also join a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian officials, which will focus on the Covid-19 pandemic. – AFP, August 22, 2021
