Going into the history of US relations with China from the 1940s on, an article yesterday in the Indian journal Economic Times says that US assessments and policies have always been misjudgements, which is also the case now with the “Quad"—U.S., India, Japan, Australia. It “isn’t a counterbalancing platform when the aim is exerting influence on China in its backyard. Plus, China’s Asean neighbours hardly want the region to turn into a battleground for major powers, which can threaten economic and political stability in these countries.”
“After all, Asean as a bloc became China’s largest trading partner last year. Vietnam, which has serious maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea, saw its two-way trade with Beijing again cross the $100 billion mark in 2020. Similarly, Malaysia – which recently protested the presence of Chinese PLA aircraft over its Exclusive Economic Zone – saw its exports to China grow by 12.5% last year to $39.23 billion.”
