Source: Patch One Knife
Writing / Sword Laugh & Little Tiger Knife
Just today, Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is witnessing the ASEAN and multinational summits in full swing; Immediately after, Bali, Indonesia, immediately took over the baton and started "G20 time".
The world is looking forward to the "Asian moment" to bring a glimmer of light to the multiple dilemmas facing the world.
However, when Air Force One arrived in Phnom Penh, the US side brought with it a plan for development cooperation, but in fact it raised the geopolitical haze of confrontation and hostility.
Now this haze continues to spread to Bali.
And these few details reveal the true intentions under the haze of Washington.
01
On November 13, the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits concluded in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As the leader of the ASEAN rotating chairmanship, Hun Sen handed over the gavel of the ASEAN rotating chair to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in 2023 at the closing ceremony.
On the 13th, Phnom Penh witnessed the holding of a number of ASEAN and multinational summits.
Among them, at the ASEAN-US summit, the two sides prominently announced in a joint statement after the meeting that the US-ASEAN relationship was upgraded to a "comprehensive strategic partnership."
This is widely interpreted by the outside world as follows, following the upgrading of China-ASEAN relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year, the United States has upgraded this relationship as a major measure to continue to win over ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, showing Washington's intention to further enhance its influence in the region and strengthen confrontation with China.
In order to show "sincerity", Biden also couldn't wait to show the "big package" he brought:
In 2023, the United States will provide $850 million in aid to Southeast Asia.
Over the past year, the U.S. government has announced more than $250 million in new initiatives with ASEAN.
Biden emphasized in particular: for its commitment to Southeast Asia, the United States is not talking in plain language, but has really invested resources.
But $250 million, what is the concept?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen recently said that since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February this year, the total economic assistance of the United States to Ukraine will reach $13 billion, and according to foreign media statistics, the total financial support of the United States to Kiev has already exceeded $50 billion, including $18.3 billion in military aid.
$850 million, what is the concept?
At this year's Pacific Islands Summit in Washington, Biden also announced that he would provide $810 million in future aid to Pacific island countries.
Or to show "sincerity", Biden emphasized at the beginning of the brief speech of the summit that this was his third trip, the third summit (the second in person) attendance.
Biden is the first U.S. president to attend the ASEAN summit since 2017 and the second ever U.S. president has visited Cambodia.
When the US president personally visited Phnom Penh, he felt that this reflected the "importance" of ASEAN, but he did not expect that two details would expose Washington's heart.
First, slips of the tongue.
On the 12th, Biden said at a meeting chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen: "I want to thank the Prime Minister of Colombia for his leadership as the rotating chair of ASEAN..."
Cambodia, as the rotating chair of ASEAN, changed hands to Colombia.
Second, being late.
On the 13th, the East Asia Summit was held at about 10:30 a.m. Cambodian time.
When Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen opened the summit, Biden did not appear. The seat in the United States is vacant.
According to the information learned by reporters, Biden arrived at the Sokha Hotel where the summit is located at 10:53 a.m. Cambodian time.
Arrived about half an hour late.
Combined with this, although Biden has long talked about "ASEAN centrality", the United States has generally disappointed Southeast Asian countries at the summit with ASEAN in May this year, from the promise of a paltry $150 million to all 10 member states, so far, the United States has not taken any steps to improve trade relations with ASEAN - since Trump withdrew from the CPTPP, the United States has been increasingly concerned with economic protectionism in the United States.
I believe that ASEAN countries have a scale in their hearts as to how true or false Washington's "sincerity" is.
No wonder the US media themselves said that although Biden wants to promote a new "comprehensive strategic partnership" to strengthen the connection between the United States and ASEAN, it is still difficult for Washington to attract Southeast Asia.
02
Compared with the US cooperation package of "thunder and rain" and the small nine-nine full of "hostility and strategic confrontation" thinking, China showed an image of a responsible major country at this ASEAN summit to promote cooperation in a down-to-earth manner and firmly maintain regional peace and stability.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the China-ASEAN Summit. At the 25th ASEAN-China-Japan-ROK (10+3) Summit held on the 12th and the 25th China-ASEAN (10+1) Summit held on the 11th, China released a prominent signal focusing on development and cooperation.
First, enhance development momentum and promote the process of regional economic integration.
China will set up a special loan for China-ASEAN joint development to further increase cooperation on post-pandemic recovery; Establish an investment cooperation fund to support major projects in ASEAN in the fields of infrastructure, energy and resources; Implement the China-ASEAN Digital Talent Training Program to train 1,000 digital talents for ASEAN countries in the next three years; Accelerate the construction of a public health science and technology cooperation center, and implement the "China-ASEAN Human Resources Quality Improvement Plan".
The measures are pragmatic and in place, clearly reflecting China's original intention to bring development opportunities to the world with its own development.
Second, maintain overall peace and stability in the region.
In the 20 years since the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, China and ASEAN countries have fully and effectively implemented the Declaration, gradually explored effective ways to enhance mutual trust and manage differences, accumulated successful experience in dialogue, cooperation and joint governance, and maintained overall peace and stability in the South China Sea.
For China's sincerity and performance, ASEAN leaders also have a scale.
The cooperation between China and ASEAN is mutually beneficial and has a huge endogenous driving force. Since the epidemic, China-ASEAN trade has bucked the trend and is now the largest trading partner of each other, reaching US$798.4 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%.
By the end of July this year, China and ASEAN had accumulated more than US$340 billion in two-way investment, making them the most active partners in mutual investment.
A few days ago, the Mengsai Station of the China-Laos Railway in northern Laos opened freight business, marking the opening of the China-Laos Railway Freight Station. In the past, it took at least 20 days for Laos' rice and other agricultural products to be transported to Chongqing, Sichuan and other places. Now the goods take the China-Laos train, and it only takes 4 days from Laos to Chongqing.
After the entire series of East Asian cooperation leaders' meetings, the whole world has once again seen that China has never talked about development cooperation and mutual benefit and win-win results on international multilateral occasions, while the United States has changed its ways to clamor for great power competition and provoke camp confrontation.
03
As soon as the East Asia Summit ended, the agenda of international multilateral consultations immediately shifted to "G20 time".
However, while "Air Force One" departs for Bali, the geopolitical wrestling and confrontational thinking exposed by the United States in Phnom Penh will also follow.
Even the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN has been deliberately added by some Western media to the time node of "before the G20 summit". They believe that as early as before the G20 summit, the United States had prepared the way to "counter China's influence".
The United States came to Bali with this purpose, no wonder the organizer Indonesia has long been worried about the atmosphere and possible outcome of the summit. This "may be the most difficult G20 summit," Indonesian government officials have said on different occasions.
The Bali Summit revolved around "Common Recovery, Strong Recovery".
Last December, when Indonesia took over the G20 presidency from Italy, it unveiled the theme of an optimistic message that the world would eventually win the battle against the pandemic. But just around the corner, even the subject faces challenges.
What the US and European media have paid the most attention to in recent days is not how the 20 countries can find a way out on the three priority issues of global health infrastructure, digital transformation and sustainable energy transition, but how the United States will take the opportunity to draw other countries to confront China and Russia, and how the US and European camps will find ways to "deal with" Moscow.
The Guardian reports that the summit still won't take traditional opening photos.
However, unlike last year's G20 Rome summit where the leaders of member states did not arrive due to the epidemic, this time it was the leaders of some Western countries who explicitly refused, and they expressed their dissatisfaction with Russia, claiming that "as long as there are Russian faces, they will refuse to take family photos."
It was also revealed in the media that Britain and the EU will isolate Russia "in everything possible" at the summit.
Possible actions, allegedly including a confrontation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who led the delegation; dissuade the "partners" from meeting with Lavrov or anyone from any of the Russian delegations; As the Russian side spoke, the British and EU delegations withdrew together.
At a time when the international community, especially the vast number of developing countries, is looking forward to the G20 summit to find answers and bring confidence to the world economic recovery, some Western officials have told the media:
The Russia-Ukraine conflict "will be a central issue in Bali."
At the general debate of the UN General Assembly this year, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno said that the world hopes that the G20 will become a catalyst for the economic recovery of the global economy, especially developing countries. At the time, she pointed out that "the global economic recovery cannot be left to the mercy of geopolitics." ”
As the summit approached, Retno reiterated in an interview with Reuters that people in Indonesia and around the world hope that leaders will not use the precious time during the G20 Bali summit "as just an opportunity to criticize and attack each other."
But the current posture of the West, especially Washington, is the opposite.
As soon as US President Joe Biden appeared in Phnom Penh, it fit some US media "previews" of his trip to Southeast Asia: trying to win over relevant countries in Southeast Asia to "counter Beijing's influence" and expand the alliance to isolate Moscow.
US media said it would be a tricky "diplomatic effort."
In other words, the US side came this time to "try" to engage in confrontation and division, not to work with everyone to overcome difficulties and promote recovery.
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