Biden admin could bring improved US diplomatic response to Asia — think tank
MANILA, Philippines — America's response to security and socioeconomic issues in Asia Pacific is seen to improve under the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, a US-based think tank has said.
Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Ernie Bower in a virtual forum by the Stratbase ADR Institute said diplomacy is likely to be given emphasis by the US in addressing issues in region.
"There will be more investment in process and understanding and diplomacy, and I think this will be a more productive process," he said at the institute's Pilipinas Conference on November 27.
US media has reported that Biden, who had served as vice president to Barack Obama and denied President Donald Trump a second term, is likely to appoint a czar for Asia.
Such could signal a shift in policy to what the Trump administration has adopted in its four years that put more emphasis on America and less involvement in other countries' affairs.
Bowers said the return of "middle management in US engagement" in Asia could be expected, with more officials seen onboard to focus on the region.
Maritime disputes in the region have emerged as one of its top security concerns over the years, as China continues its aggressive stance in asserting presence over areas which the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, have been contesting.
President Rodrigo Duterte in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September raised the country's arbitral win in the Hague in 2016 against China.
His remarks had drawn praise even from critics, as it was the first time in his four years that he asserted the ruling after pivoting Manila toward Beijing.
Such ran counter to the tone he had adopted in his State of the Nation Address in July, where he admitted that the country does not stand a chance in reclaiming its territory with China "having the arms" and the Philippines not equipped for war.
Significantly, it was also different from his vow as a candidate for president in the 2016 elections where he said he would plant the Philippine flag in the disputed territory riding a jet ski.
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He had since been challenged to match his words with actions, with his address coming after repeated instances of Filipinos being harassed over the disputed waters by the Chinese.
Malacañang has said that it is welcome to working with the new administration in the US come January 2021. Like much of the world along with its neighbors, therefore, the country will await Biden's approach on issues such as the longstanding territorial disputes in Asia.
Bowers said that while the new administration will adopt a more careful diplomacy, it would not mean a weakening of its commitment, along with a "more ASEAN centrality and less America-first" stance.
"That doesn't mean diminishment of the US commitment to the Philippines' free access or standing up to Chinese," he said. "What is seen by many as Chinese coercion in the South China Sea, but it will be strength with diplomacy rather than just strength and blunt words."
Stratbase ADR's president Dindo Manhit, meanwhile, sought to remind that Asian countries above all bear the responsibility of keeping a rules-based order in the region.
"There is a crucial need for middle powers to recognize their role and the importance of creating a network of like-minded states to protect and maintain an open and multipolar Indo-Pacific region," he said in the same virtual forum.
President Trump has given the go signal for the transition process to a Biden administration to begin, even as he continues to float electoral fraud claims without evidence and his campaign team suffering defeats in courts.
Biden along with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the nation's first woman and person of color to ascend to the second highest post, will begin their term at noon of January 20, 2021. — Christian Deiparine
A thread of major developments in the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the United States from April to December 2020. (Photo by AFP/Mark Cristino)
US national security adviser Robert O'Brien affirms Washington's commitment to the Philippines in protecting its sovereign rights, offshore resources and rights consistent with international law.
Citing Washington's realignment of its position on the South China Sea with the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidate Beijing's expansive claims, O'Brien stresses that resources in the area belong to the Filipino people.
"They don’t belong to some other country that just because might, they may be big, and they may be bigger than the Philippines, they can come take away and convert the resources of the Philippine people," O'Brien says.
The US Embassy in the Philippines says the US government has turned over 150 laptop computers, printers, projectors and 80 sets of learning materials to the Department of Education through the United States Agency for International Development.
"This assistance is part of USAID’s Opportunity 2.0, a five-year, P1.9-billion ($37.5 million) project that works with DepEd, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and local governments to support their ongoing programs to provide relevant education, employability skills, and work experience to out-of-school youth," the US Embassy says in a statement.
The US government launches a new program to provide second-chance opportunities to at least 180,000 out-of-school youth in the Philippines.
Under the five-year "Opportunity 2.0" project, which is worth P1.9 billion, the USAID will partner with DepEd and TESDA to augment their ongoing programs that provide relevant education, employability skills and work experience.
"Through this new partnership, we can leverage a range of resources to maximize the potential of the Filipino youth, particularly those who are out-of-school or unemployed. With the right knowledge, attitudes, and skills, they will play a pivotal role in this great country’s growth and success over the long-term," US Ambassador Sung Kim says.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to discuss the recent change in US policy on maritime claims in the South China Sea, the US Department of State says.
The two foreign ministers also discussed US support for Southeast Asian coastal states upholding their sovereign rights and interests consistent with international law, as well as opportunities for further maritime cooperation between the two countries.
"The two secretaries also discussed the strong economic, security, and people-to-people ties that bind our two countries," the statement read.
The US Army and Marine Corps service members, in partnership with the Philippine Air Force, Army and Coast Guard, deliver an additional P11.4 million ($236,000) worth of personal protective equipment and medical supplies to hospitals in 11 cities in the Philippines.
The latest donation brings the total assistance of the US government to the Philippines' efforts against COVID-19 to P989 million (more than $20 million).
"This latest delivery of U.S. government assistance for Filipino frontliners in the battle against COVID-19 is a testament to our ongoing commitment to help the Philippines defeat the pandemic," US Ambassador Sung Kim says.
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