US keeping watch on China's role in summit

Greg Torode

As the East Asia Summit settles down to become a regular annual fixture, the United States' approach towards it will be very interesting to watch. Traditionally, Washington is largely ambivalent towards initiatives in the region in which it is not involved. And so far it has yet to dignify the summit - which this week held its third annual meeting - with a great deal of obvious attention.

Behind the scenes it is different. US diplomats say Washington is eager to gauge the extent of China's leading role and how best to deal with the body as it matures.

The US, of course, is conspicuous by its absence at the event. Set up under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, it brings the 10 Asean leaders together with six other leaders from around the region - China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Early on, it was seen as a way to forge new ties across a fast-growing and integrating East Asia. With Japan - the United States' closest regional ally - wary of China's dominance at the event, India, Australia and New Zealand were roped in as well.

This fits neatly into Japan's foreign policy of reaching out to like-minded democracies in the region as a long-term counter to China.

It was probably not the greatest of weeks for that camp, however. As a priority, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was keen to make good on his vow to build deeper ties with China and the rest of the region.

As he wrapped up his trip, Mr Fukuda appeared to place a dollar each way. "I'm pleased to confirm that the East Asia Summit has developed into a practical framework for co-operation," he said.

The exact shape of a planned East Asia Community, he added, was "still a very vague idea".

Then there was the collapse of a planned briefing on Myanmar's tensions by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari after objections from the country's ruling military junta. China's support and understanding of Myanmar's position held crucial sway.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab did wave Washington's flag on the fringes of Asean's own summit, as she warned of Myanmar imperiling future trade talks. It would not be "business as usual", she said, warning Asean's credibility was at stake by less than resolute action.

Asean instead kept Myanmar, in the words of secretary general Ong Keng Yong, "part of the family".

And even Australia, widely seen as a useful surrogate at times for Washington, punched beneath its weight. With campaigning ahead of today's general election going badly for the governing Liberal Party, Prime Minister John Howard decided to stay home in what looks set to be one of his last decisions in 11 years as leader.

Alexander Downer, his long-serving foreign minister, cut a forlorn figure on the fringes. The junction of politics and diplomacy is, after all, a brutal arena.

"I accept it's not very convenient for me to go," Mr Downer said as he left a desperate re-election campaign, acknowledging it was important to Australia's interests to attend.

The wider intrigue surrounding how Washington will deal with the summit stems from its ongoing power and role in the region.

That should not be underestimated. The US, with a full aircraft carrier battle group based permanently in Japan, remains the region's biggest military power.

Many of the nations on show at the summit - Singapore, Thailand and South Korea - already have strong political and military relations with the US, while others such as Vietnam have rapidly thawing and deepening ties, in part as a future check on China's influence.

For the time being, at least, the summit can only be part of the equation in Asia's Great Game.