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China and South-East Asian countries pledge greater vaccine cooperation as US influence wanes
By Max WaldenJune 9 2021
South-East Asian foreign ministers this week met their Chinese counterpart in the Chinese city of Chongqing, as a major COVID-19 surge across the region strengthens the reliance on Chinese-made vaccines.
Key points:
- The in-person meeting with Wang Yi came after one with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was ruined by technical difficulties
- China has supplied millions of vaccines to South-East Asia as the World Health Organization's COVAX scheme falters
- An ASEAN-China statement was issued over the South China Sea after recent tensions over the contested waters
"The fact that the two sides agreed to hold a face-to-face special foreign ministers' meeting despite the ongoing grim COVID-19 situation reflects how countries attach great importance to and hold high expectations of China-ASEAN relations under the new circumstances," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Connection problems frustrated a planned online meeting in late May — supposed to be the Biden administration's first high-level meeting with the regional bloc — while Mr Blinken was aboard a plane to Israel.
Numerous media outlets cited diplomatic sources as saying Mr Blinken kept South-East Asian leaders waiting up to 45 minutes.
US ties with the region were already strained under former president Donald Trump, who declined to attend the ASEAN Summit three years in a row, even though in 2020 the forum was held online.
"The technical snafu during Blinken's meeting with ASEAN leaders reinforced the sentiment of South-East Asia being neglected by the US that has been brewing for a while," said Ivy Kwek, a Malaysian analyst.
The US State Department did not respond to the ABC's questions about why the meeting with Mr Blinken was cancelled.
ASEAN thanks China for distribution of vaccines, US donates doses to Taiwan
The meeting of foreign ministers and the US diplomatic gaffe came amid Beijing's distribution of millions of vaccines to the region as it sees a deadly surge of cases, partly driven by infectious new variants.A joint statement said ASEAN "greatly appreciates China's provision of vaccines" and both parties agreed to "further expand vaccine cooperation".
The World Health Organization last week approved Chinese vaccine Sinovac for emergency listing, allowing it to be distributed through its COVAX scheme.
It approved China's Sinopharm vaccine last month.
COVAX, which is aimed at providing access to vaccines for low income countries such as those in South-East Asia, faces major supply problems, partly due to curbs on Indian exports.
The US only this month detailed its plan to distribute 80 million vaccine doses around the world, including to South-East Asia, by the end of June.
Around three-quarters of these will be distributed through COVAX.
But Washington has already made overtures to assist wealthier Taiwan — which has rejected Chinese vaccines — through its latest outbreak.
A delegation of US Senators this week flew to Taipei on military aircraft to announce a donation of 750,000 coronavirus vaccines.
Yuning Song, a defence policy expert based in Taiwan, said while the US donating vaccines was "in the nature of a humanitarian mission", sending military carriers may have the added intention of sending a message to China.
For Ms Kwek, a visiting fellow at Taiwan's National Chengchi University, the "the US' late arrival to the game in delivering vaccine assistance has certainly left a vacuum in South-East Asia and stands in sharp contrast to China's proactive vaccine diplomacy."
"Most South-East Asian countries are still struggling to control COVID-19 outbreaks and securing enough vaccines for their population, which is crucial to save lives and for the badly-hit economies to open up," she said.
Vietnamese authorities last week approved China's Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use, following earlier approval of AstraZeneca and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
Sinovac is already a key part of the vaccine rollout in several major South-East Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The US and its Quad partners Australia, Japan and India in March pledged to boost vaccine production and distribution, particularly for South-East Asia.
"The Quad COVID vaccine promise has an end of year deadline and many South-East Asian countries are eager to receive it because they want alternatives to Chinese vaccines," said Hayley Channer, a senior policy fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre.
China agrees to 'self-restraint' in South China Sea
Ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea — the biggest point of tension between China and its South-East Asian neighbours — were also discussed at the ASEAN-China meeting.Last week, Malaysia's military bristled at the flight of 16 Chinese aircraft over a special economic zone claimed by the South-East Asian country, which Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein deemed a "breach of the Malaysian airspace and sovereignty".
The joint ASEAN-China statement later pledged to "uphold the freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes".
Natalie Sambhi of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University said language around self-restraint was "ironic" given recent encroachment by the Chinese military into Malaysian air space and mooring of ships in the Philippines' Whitsun Reef in April.
"Aside from the glaring omission of Myanmar, the co-chair statement goes very little beyond COVID cooperation," she said.
Myanmar democrats 'appalled' by junta official's attendance
The Myanmar junta's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin attended the Chongqing meeting, a decision criticised by pro-democracy groups in Myanmar.Just days prior, junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing met with China's ambassador Chen Hai in the capital Naypyitaw.
Myanmar's democratically elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was thrown out by the country's military in February, sparking months of protests and intensifying violence with ethnic minority groups.
Mr Wang said China was willing to work with ASEAN on a resolution to the situation in Myanmar, urging the junta to put "interests of the people first, exercise calm and restraint and eliminate all kinds of violence".
The joint statement released after the Chongqing meeting made no mention of the situation in Myanmar.
"We are appalled at China's official engagement with Myanmar's military junta, including allowing Wunna Maung Lwin to represent Myanmar at the ASEAN-China meetings," a spokesperson for the NGO Justice for Myanmar told the ABC.
"ASEAN has also chosen to legitimate the military's failing attempted coup by siding with the junta rather than respect the will of the people, who are represented by the National Unity Government."
The National Unity Government is a government in exile formed by ousted pro-democracy politicians including Ms Suu Kyi, who remains in detention.
Antony Blinken tried and failed to meet South-East Asian leaders online. Weeks later, China hosted them in person
Australia and the US have pledged vaccines for South-East Asia. But as a deadly new surge rips through the region, they are looking instead to China for quick relief.
www.abc.net.au
