China's foreign policy mantra should be 'economy first'

The recent Asean Summit in Phnom Penh drew considerable international attention even amid the missiles in Gaza and another crisis in Europe. This attention had little to do, intrinsically, with the group of 10 countries.

The summit's significance is magnified through the lens of US-China competition: US President Barack Obama took his first overseas trip since winning re-election; this was perhaps the last visit by outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao . Over the past two years, the Obama administration has made a concerted "pivot" to the region, whereas Beijing has seen alarm raised with its neighbours over territorial disputes.

Obama did well. Recall his first visit in 2009, when he was assailed in the American press for being too soft. This time, he pushed and persuaded on both economics and politics.

In Bangkok, the US reminded Thais of their long-standing alliance and prodded them towards entering the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership for closer economic links. In Yangon, Obama - the first American president to visit the country - met reformist President Thein Sein, and uttered the word "Myanmar". He then embraced - quite literally and heartily - iconic opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi and called the country "Burma". The human rights question about problems in Rakhine state was raised but had to be expected, given criticism that the presidential visit was premature.

Add this to strengthened ties with Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines, and the Obama administration's first term will be noted for re-engaging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Credit goes to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been proactive in paving the way for the president.

But another factor has been China. Concerns about Beijing's ambitions have made other Asians much more receptive to American attention.