Biden’s summit no-show adds to ASEAN’s relevance crisis

News Snapshot:

“It’s hard to look at what we’ve done as an administration, since the very beginning, and come away with a conclusion that we are somehow not interested in the Indo-Pacific or that we are prioritising the Southeast Asia nations and those relationships,” John Kirby, a national security spokesperson, said at a briefing in Washington. In November, Biden attended the ASEAN summit meetings in Cambodia, and before that, in May 2022, hosted eight of the bloc’s leaders at the White House to demonstrate his administration’s commitment to their region while dealing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Security in Jakarta is tight...