Opinion | How the US is losing hearts and minds in Southeast Asia to China

The 35th Asean Summit has come and gone, and the United States has again lost ground in its struggle with China for the hearts and minds of Southeast Asia.

Over the last few years, the decline in US soft power in the region has accelerated, after its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, which neglects the region’s strategic interests while economically punishing and alienating potential supporters.

US soft power has been declining for years, absolutely and relative to China’s influence. In the run-up to the 2017 Asean summit, both the US and China lobbied heavily for their preferences. China wanted no reference to its claims and activities in the South China Sea and the 2016 arbitration ruling against it. It also refused to support any reference to the need for a “legally binding” code of conduct between China and Asean.

For the latest Asean summit, the hot issue was China’s incursions in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the disputed South China Sea, which the US roundly condemned. But it diminished its clout by sending a delegation headed by US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a summit attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.