After completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict, the United States is now focusing on Southeast Asia, where rival superpower China is the number one priority.
An example of the strategic change operated by Washington is that the vice president, Kamala Harris, was traveling in the region during the heavy week as the exit from Afghanistan entered a turbulent final stretch, hoping to reinforce the pressure of her allies against Beijing.
Harris accused Beijing of “acts” that “threaten the established international order”, in particular its aggressive claims to territories in the South China Sea.
His tour of Singapore and Vietnam was seen as an effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to reassure Asian allies, uneasy about the US withdrawal from Kabul following the sudden fall of the Washington-backed Afghan government for nearly 20 years.
Ryan Hass, an international relations specialist at the Brookings Institution, said the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle will not have a lasting impact on Washington’s credibility in Asia.
“The position of the United States in Asia depends on the interests shared with its partners in balancing the rise of China and preserving the lasting peace that has allowed the rapid development of the region,” he told AFP.
“None of those factors are diminished by the events in Afghanistan.” The US interest in East Asia “will open up new possibilities” for the country and its partners in the region, he added.
Lawmaker Adam Smith, who heads the House Committee on the Armed Forces, said the US withdrawal from Afghanistan does not appear to shift the balance between that country and rival superpowers China and Russia.