China-US strategic rivalry will be on display at East Asia Summit even if Donald Trump isn’t, observers say

US president’s absence from annual event should not be seen as a lack of American interest in regional issues, observers say

New national security adviser Robert O’Brien will head American delegation at two-day meeting, while Premier Li Keqiang will lead Chinese team

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The South China Sea is often the focus for the growing strategic rivalry between Beijing and Washington. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:00am, 2 Nov 2019Updated: 2:52pm, 18 Dec 2019

The absence of a top level US official at a regional forum in Thailand this weekend should not be seen as an easing of the strategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing, observers say.

The two-day East Asia Summit gets under way with preliminary meetings in Bangkok on Sunday, with the main event being held the following day in Nonthaburi, a city about 20km (12 miles) to the north.

While Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are all expected to be there, the American delegation will be headed by the newly appointed national security adviser Robert O’Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The presence of the relatively lower ranking US officials could be interpreted as a sign that US President Donald Trump’s attention on the region was waning, said Xu Liping, a professor at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

But that did not mean the power struggle between China and the US was in decline, he said. Rather, their rivalry was likely to loom large at the summit.

In the absence of Donald Trump, the US delegation to the East Asia Summit will be led by recently appointed national security adviser Robert O’Brien (right). Photo: AP