Obama's no-show at Asia summits a lost chance to buttress US influence

Foreign policy always becomes a favourite pastime of lame-duck, second-term presidents, American pundits always say, because they can never get anything done at home. Well, this week we may find out whether President Barack Obama is doomed to set new standards in second-term lameness - by being gridlocked at home and frustrated abroad.

Starting this weekend, Obama had planned to inject new momentum into his signature foreign policy: the US strategic pivot to Asia.

But as has been confirmed, the head of an American government that has effectively ceased to function has decided not to embark on his anticipated four-nation tour of Southeast Asia after all. Instead, he has chosen to stay in Washington, like a captain duty-bound to stand on the burning deck, to keep searching for a way out of the US' disastrous government shutdown.

In doing so, he has made a serious mistake. Republican Party leaders don't care what Obama has to say. But Asian leaders do.

The White House had already scratched visits to Malaysia and the Philippines from Obama's itinerary in deference to Washington's self-made crisis, but initially kept the two most important elements of the trip on the slate. They were the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Indonesia, and the East Asia Summit in Brunei. Obama's attendance at these flagship regional forums really mattered: the credibility of his Asia pivot depended on it.

It is a pity that Obama decided to skip Malaysia and the Philippines, but this was probably a price worth paying in order to deflect some criticism at home. Malaysia is not yet a key partner in the pivot strategy, although, as Obama's postponed state visit indicates, it may yet turn into one. The Philippines is a key partner, but its engagement is already assured since Manila is desperate for support in its territorial disputes with China.