The Biden Administration invited the ASEAN heads of state to a summit in Washington on March 28-29, but failed to clear it with the ASEAN leaders before announcing the day, some of whom expressed resentment. The result was an “indefinite postponement” of the summit.
Thus, the visits to Beijing from several ASEAN Foreign Ministers this week is being seen as a diplomatic boon for China, especially as the Washington event would have included lectures on why ASEAN must join the U.S. sanctions against Russia and distance themselves from China. In fact, only Singapore of the ten ASEAN nations has imposed sanctions on Russia, showing once again the role of Singapore as a loyal outpost in Asia for the City of London.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week met with the Foreign Ministers from Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia, with the Philippines soon to follow. Rather than discussing geopolitical confrontations, the agenda was on development as part of the Belt and Road Initiative:
