Opinion | Blinken’s China trip boosts Asean nations’ efforts to ease Sino-US tensions

“Antony Blinken, effectively, threw Taiwan under the bus,” lamented Rebekah Koffler, a former US defence intelligence officer, shortly after the US secretary of state’s visit to Beijing, where he made it clear Washington does not support Taiwan independence.

The outspoken Fox News contributor went so far as to claim that “Xi Jinping will almost certainly be emboldened by Blinken’s announcement … now Beijing will feel more confident that Washington will not even put up a major fight and assist Taipei.” Michael Pillsbury, another former defence official and staunch Republican, criticised Blinken’s trip as a “huge mistake”, claiming the Biden administration should not appease Beijing and risk its credibility among regional allies.

If anything, key Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members are stepping up their efforts to bolster Sino-US detente. Indonesia, the current Asean chair, chose to relocate a proposed naval drill with fellow Southeast Asian nations away from areas overlapping Beijing’s territorial claims to help ease regional tensions. The Philippines, a US treaty ally, is pursuing improved relations with Beijing after hosting a Chinese naval contingent in June.

Aware of criticism at home, the Biden administration was quick to emphasise the significance of Blinken’s visit, during which he met top Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping. Southeast Asian nations appeared to be the White House’s target audience.

To begin with, there was an element of urgency. In the past month alone, there have been at least two major close calls between US and Chinese armed forces, one in the skies over the South China Sea, the other in the Taiwan Strait. The virtual absence of direct military-to-military dialogue, evident during the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, has only reinforced fears of accidental clashes in Asian waters.