Context:

China surrounded itself with various geopolitical confrontations with a growing array of its neighbours which shows its aggression.

Catalyst for change

• Chinese aggressiveness is accelerating long-standing debates about the underlying costs of reliance on China and spurring support for closer coordination between other Indo-Pacific partners which is evident from
• The Indian, Japanese, Malaysian, and Australian governments have all taken concrete steps to reduce their economic exposure to Beijing, spanning investment, manufacturing, and technology.

• India and Australia recently signed a new military logistics agreement in the “virtual summit” and a similar agreement between Delhi and Tokyo may follow.

• The Quadrilateral Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States is growing stronger and even expanding.

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers issued one of their strongest statements on the South China Sea, insisting that maritime disputes must be resolved in accordance with the UN Law of the Sea treaty.

Asian multilateralism- Born out of crisis

• Asian multilateralism has often been born out of crises which means that the seriousness of purpose came only with the shock of the terrible alternatives. For instance,

• The Chiang Mai Initiative, a financial swap mechanism between China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, emerged in the aftermath of the late 1990s financial crisis. 

• ASEAN, was created in 1967 but did not convene its first heads of state meeting until Southeast Asian leaders were shocked into action by the fall of Saigon in 1976. 

America and geopolitics

• Likewise, COVID-19 crisis may be remaking the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific. 
• The ongoing crisis resulted in openings for Trump administration which it has long sought:
  • more credible multilateral coordination among allies,
  • pushback against online disinformation, and
  • the desire to better integrate like-minded economies and supply chains.
• At the same time, the crisis also raises questions about the durability of American leadership since it continues to make unforced errors that create distance with U.S. allies and partners.
  • For example, the administration’s suspension of various worker visas is a move that will almost certainly have serious repercussions in India.

What the U.S. needs to do

• To improve, the U.S. needs to make two major shifts.

Support regional efforts

• U.S. policy needs to start supporting regional efforts to build a less China-centric future for the Indo-Pacific.
• U.S. leadership would be far more effective if it worked with Indo-Pacific partners on the issues that they prioritise and provided them significant space for independent action.

Learn from mistakes

• While China certainly has the power to coerce, it is often China’s own overreach  by pushing too hard on its neighbours that hardens the relationship with other Asian nations.
• The US should avoid repeating China’s mistakes and offer a clear alternative to China’s diplomacy.

U.S. versus China

• Across the Indo-Pacific, the desire for U.S. leadership remains strong, with the U.S. still viewed more favourably than China.
• Also the U.S. continues to express widespread support for America’s alliances and partnerships.
• US and Asian partners have a unique chance to build more equal and capable regional partnerships and institutions in the long recovery ahead.

Way forward:

• Pan-Asian solidarity that opposes all forms of authoritarianism is needed of the hour.
• Asian countries should use the opportunity and continue strengthening their own regional networks, which will challenge and complicate the views of those in both Washington and Beijing.