When Southeast Asia’s annual summit was expanded to include the US more than a decade ago, it assured an often neglected region a regular audience with the sitting president. Not this year.
Joe Biden will skip the summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta starting Tuesday, prompting former top diplomats in the region to question the bloc’s diminishing influence and its neutral strategy. Biden is sending Vice President Kamala Harris to Asean just before he attends the Group of 20 Nations gathering in India. He then heads to Vietnam, which is a short flight to Jakarta.