Interview: U.S. attempt to seek alliance with ASEAN against China unattainable -- expert

BANGKOK, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. plan of seeking an alliance with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to counter China with its so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy" will not work in the region, an expert on ASEAN studies has said.

Since its establishment, ASEAN has adhered to a neutral foreign policy stance, and has been sticking to the position especially at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, highlighted by the U.S. advocating strategic competition with China and dramatic changes in the European security landscape, Yang Baoyun said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The ASEAN members' reluctance to take sides is the reason why the U.S. attempt to seek an alliance with ASEAN against China will fail, said Yang, a professor at Thailand's Thammasat University.

He said as recovering the pandemic-hit economy topping ASEAN countries' policy agendas, the U.S. peddling of the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" once attracted the interest of many ASEAN countries, which were left disappointed as they saw little clarity on the framework during the U.S.-ASEAN summit held in Washington last week.

For the past years, ASEAN has fretted about the lack of U.S. attention to the region, without any long-term and sustained economic engagement nor adequate financial inputs by Washington, said the professor.

Moreover, ASEAN does not see eye to eye with the United States on various issues, including the U.S. approach to addressing regional affairs, regional economic cooperation and human rights, he said.

Yang said ASEAN's ties with China and the thriving bilateral economic cooperation have brought tangible benefits to ASEAN members' social and economic development as well as the well-being of their people.

"This is also where the U.S. attempt to seek an ASEAN alliance against China will reach a dead end," he said.