The United States sees everyone as a \"pawn,\" while ASEAN sees through this and speaks out about it

Thread Content

This post was last edited by Huàshí Dōng on 2022-4-27 at 11:09, with bg10.png. The United States has used the Russia-Ukraine conflict to effectively slow down Europe’s pursuit of strategic autonomy, and this has also led to a resurgence of Cold War-era tensions around the world; some Westerners are already eagerly envisioning a \"parallel world\" characterized by a confrontation between democracy and authoritarianism. When the wind moves the banners, it is the heart that is moving. Constantly focusing on the “main rival” and the “primary threat,” any change is seen as an “opportunity” for confrontation. Although the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the focus of current global turmoil, the United States **continues to portray China as a \"major threat\" and tries to extend the East-West confrontation between the U.S. and Russia from Europe to Asia. Huang Tingjian’s masterful cursive script work from his later years, the \"Zhushangzuo Tie\", remains significant. In Europe, the United States instigates conflicts while simultaneously pushing the idea of a \"Russian threat\" on various countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, the United States spares no effort to spread feelings of anxiety about China’s rise among regional members. However, the world does not think this way. The vast majority of countries in regions such as Asia-Pacific, West Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa **do not accept the United States’ attempts to stir division and conflict and create confrontations between various groups. In particular, members in the Asia-Pacific region such as ASEAN will not easily be drawn into the United States’ wars, nor are they willing to serve as pawns in U.S. geopolitical struggles. Inner demons prevent the United States from facing this reality. 01/What the United States looks like is well understood by ASEAN; ASEAN has **witnessed the rise and fall of American hegemony, as well as the disasters brought about by it. Historically, the United States occupied the Philippines through the Spanish-American War, which was an important step in its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region and its pursuit of global hegemony. During the Cold War, the United States supported puppets in Vietnam, provoking war between North and South Vietnam. To their surprise, pro-American South Vietnam failed miserably; despite America’s hidden support, it could not avert defeat, so the United States had to get directly involved in order to save face. The militaristic excesses of American hegemony ultimately backfired on itself; not only did it suffer repeated defeats in battles, but it also faced problems at home. Eventually, forced by the anti-war movements both at home and abroad, it withdrew in a hurry, its humiliating departure becoming a symbolized moment known as the \"Saigon Moment\". In addition to **hegemony**, the United States also uses financial hegemony to exert influence over the Asia-Pacific region, continuously reaping the wealth generated there. One of the key causes of the Asian financial crisis that broke out in 1997 was U.S. financial hegemony. Southeast Asia **has seen the flaws in the international financial system as a result of these crises, and has also become aware of the greed and selfishness of the United States’ financial hegemony as it took advantage of the situation. For the sake of development, ASEAN naturally welcomes U.S. participation in regional cooperation, but it also clearly dislikes the U.S. meddling in geopolitics. The United States claims to be part of the Asia-Pacific region geographically, but the regional members are more concerned about whether the U.S. takes concrete actions to develop and benefit the Asia-Pacific region, and they will not believe the U.S.’s insincere claims of seeking closer ties. Obama **proposed strategies such as “returning to the Asia-Pacific region” and “Asia-Pacific rebalancing,” which were essentially aimed at overshadowing economic and social development; once the true intentions became clear, what emerged was outright American hegemony.** *****Rather than even bother with the pretense of hegemony, it withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the beginning of its rule, focusing instead on building a \"coalition\" against China. By constantly emphasizing a \"return of the United States,\" Biden is actually establishing a \"5-4-3-2\" strategy in the Asia-Pacific region (strengthening the \"Five Eyes Alliance,\" promoting the \"quadrilateral mechanism,\" forming triangular security partnerships, and tightening bilateral alliances); the so-called push for regional cooperation is nothing but another guise for hegemony. In 2021, Singaporean scholar Mak Keok Siong wrote a piece warning that NATO was using the pretext of dealing with China’s \"security threats\" to try to gain a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region, stating that \"NATO’s entry will only bring trouble to the countries in the Asia-Pacific region.\" In short, the Asia-Pacific region is broad enough to accommodate development cooperation among countries, but it has no room for anyone to wield hegemony. 02/Not surprisingly, this is the choice of Indonesia and the entire ASEAN. ASEAN, with its member states that have different social systems, has always opposed dividing the world using a binary opposition framework. It is for this very reason that ASEAN has maintained confidence and vitality in its development for a long time. Through the unfolding of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it has become clear that the Cold War mindset is essentially a binary, black-and-white paradigm of enemy-ally thinking. The United States is reverting to Cold War thinking in order, ultimately, to build consensus both at home and abroad by creating enemies, thereby proactively maintaining its hegemonic position and avoiding having to wait passively for that hegemony to decline. Whether Cold War thinking can succeed does not depend on U.S. efforts, but rather on whether countries accept the concept of binary opposition. Globally, the answer is clearly no. Most of the world, including ASEAN**, now holds doubts about the \"authoritarianism–liberalism\" dichotomy fabricated and promoted by the United States. People do not believe that there is only one ** in the world; they refuse to divide the world according to the so-called \"common values\" promoted by the West, and they certainly do not accept America’s interference under the pretext of \"** freedom\". It can be said that Southeast Asia **lacks the gene for unilateralism. The United States’ attempt to draw Southeast Asia into a \"small circle\" to support its \"new Cold War\" is a display of ignorance regarding Asia’s historical traditions, as well as an insistence on using force. One of the key elements underlying the trend of multipolarization in the world today is the diversity advocated by Asian civilizations. Ambassador Qi Zhan, director of the Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, once wrote, “Asia has been diverse since ancient times and has never supported unilateralism.” Although we share many commonalities, multipolarity is the core characteristic of Asia. ”As part of Asia’s multicultural landscape, ASEAN is **also a staunch supporter of multilateralism. Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, has written that \"ASEAN will translate its commitment to the United Nations Charter into concrete actions, uphold multilateralism, and work together to preserve the international system centered on the United Nations.\" ” 67 years ago, it was at the Bandung Conference held in Indonesia that Asia and Africa **jointly tried to resolve international issues through multilateralism and the principle of sovereign equality. Faced with today’s turbulent world, there is also an expectation that the G20 summit to be held in Indonesia this year will stay free from external pressures and practice true multilateralism. At the recently concluded G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, the world witnessed the multilateralist stance demonstrated by the host country, Indonesia. Addressing the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ukraine who left the meeting during the Russian representative’s speech, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said, “The G20 is a very important platform; it is the primary economic cooperation forum where we discuss risks and ways to coordinate and cooperate.” I believe that (the withdrawal of some member states) will not affect cooperation nor the role of the G20. Despite the opposition of Western powers, Indonesia insists on inviting Russia to the G20 summit scheduled for this November. 03/ The “fuel” needed by ASEAN is practical cooperation. Looking back at history, Southeast Asia has **experienced wars and chaos. After World War II, the global decolonization movement emerged, and the world order dominated by Europe was destroyed. However, the process of establishing a new order in Southeast Asia was filled with violence and turmoil. The painful memories of bloodshed have made Southeast Asia **value the current stability. In 2019, during his opening speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong first reviewed Southeast Asia’s colonial history over the past two centuries, during which various powers took turns imposing their dominance, sowing divisions, and engaging in conflicts among each other. ““Southeast Asia is no stranger to great-power competition,” said Lee Hsien Loong. ASEAN supports an open and inclusive platform for regional cooperation, but it opposes any efforts to weaken ASEAN’s central role, as well as actions that could lead to confrontations among member states or force them to take a side. Philippines President Duterte also emphasized that the Philippines will not take a side in the competition between major powers, while urging those powers not to undermine the interests of smaller countries in their pursuit of dominance. ***During that period, the U.S. Department of Defense released the \"Indo-Pacific Strategy Report\" in an attempt to disrupt peace and stability in the region. In February of this year, Biden also released a \"Indo-Pacific Strategy\" document that placed particular emphasis on winning over Southeast Asia. Biden was **full of assurances, but few in Southeast Asia responded**. Beyond the United States’ long-standing lack of follow-through in its plans for regional economic development, the fundamental reason is that Southeast Asia **does not agree to the U.S. attempt to turn the Asia-Pacific region, or the so-called \"Indo-Pacific\" region, into a chessboard for great-power competition. Clearly, ASEAN values more its opportunities for connection between the two oceans and cooperative development, and has no intention of following the geopolitical games played by the United States. As one of the most dynamic and promising regions in the world’s economic development, ASEAN has long recognized that political stability is a necessary condition for achieving economic integration and prosperity. It is working to mitigate the geopolitical tensions driven by the United States by establishing a dialogue and cooperation framework led by ASEAN, with a focus on shared development and prosperity. ASEAN hopes to continue playing the role of a \"regional engine for global growth,\" with pragmatic cooperation as its \"fuel\" rather than conflict and confrontation. It is for this very reason that Southeast Asia, **together with China and most of the rest of the world**, has chosen to advocate for peace and dialogue in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, opposing actions that exacerbate the situation. The establishment of the future world order will certainly not be left at the mercy of hegemonic powers, and ASEAN **will not serve as a pawn in America’s geopolitical struggles. During his recent visit to the United States, Lee Hsien Loong used the term “Asia-Pacific” on multiple occasions in his speeches, rather than the term “Indo-Pacific,” which carries a anti-China connotation. He said outright that the United States uses the \"Indo-Pacific\" economic framework as a means of engagement in the region, and this framework should be based on mutual benefit rather than solely on strategy, security, and potential hostility. Huang Xuncai, the current Finance Minister who is set to become Singapore’s next Prime Minister, has also publicly argued that regional cooperation should not exclude China. He said, “We hope to create an open and inclusive framework that allows all major powers to participate in Asian and Pacific affairs.” ”By Chen Changning (Director of the American Studies Center at Sichuan University)