U.S. President Joe Biden was once again absent from the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, which concluded earlier this month in Vientiane, Laos. This marked the second year in a row the United States’ leader chose to skip the gathering. This year the administration sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his place, a further downgrade from Vice President Kamala Harris’ participation in 2023.
By most objective measures, the United States’ position in Asia at the end of 2024 is more secure than it was in 2020. The Biden administration has secured access to nine bases in the Philippines as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was put on hold under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022). In the span of one month in 2023, the Biden administration established a new, Japan-South Korea-U.S. trilateral with its two East Asian allies and concluded a double upgrade in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship.
The Lowy Institute’s newly released Asia Power Index confirmed this positive trendline, finding that the United States remains the most powerful country in Asia. While Beijing continues to chip away at Washington’s lead, the index found that “China’s power is plateauing,” rather than surpassing that of the United States.
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