Even as the United States makes Southeast Asia a diplomatic priority, it has invited just three ASEAN members to this week’s democracy summit, but analysts in the region said Tuesday that Washington’s strategy in doing so was largely sound.
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are the only three Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) member states that are invited.
And including the Philippines, despite the thousands of extrajudicial killings since 2016, is not as perplexing as it may seem, one analyst said. Others noted that by inviting Manila, the U.S. was prioritizing its strategic security goals.
The Summit for Democracy, to be held Dec. 9-10, is part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s strategy to counter the influence of autocratic states such as Russia and China, said Gilang Kembara, a researcher in international relations at the…
