Asean in the eyes of the West - Pathetic and shallow

 

Photo cropped from an article by Ravi Velloor in the ST on 23 Feb 23. The caricature depicting Asean as a bunch of mindless men behaving like hungry third world kids is quite demeaning and condescending. Is Asean really that hungry and silly to rush for a hamburger offered by the Americans, like the $150m pittance, and fighting for it in glee?

Velloor's article in a way repeats the western narrative and wishful thinking that China is now in decline and the USA is back in favour. This kind of American propaganda trying to deceive the world that the failing American Empire is winning the war to remain as the number one hegemon is common in all American and western media, as well as the media of American crony states. 

Is America really winning the war of dominance? Is China really losing it because of a few sanctions and the chip and technology war? Just because of 3 years of Covid lockdown, self imposed by China, would this change the fate of China's rise? Don't dismiss the fact that China is now the number one trading partner of more than 120 countries in the world and now with the opening up, ex Covid, the Chinese factories are going to run full steam ahead while the Americans are sucked in the self destructive war in Ukraine, with its factories ramping more bullets and killer machine.

And not to forget, Asean is not the silly children of yesteryears that would run after a white tourist throwing sweets at them. Asean is now an economic power in its own right and does not need little pieces of crumbs to get by. As long as the region and the world at large remains peaceful, leaving aside the war in Europe, Asean's economies would do well without needing charity from the Americans.

The only way for the Americans to squeeze and control Asean is to blackmail Asean leaders on some indiscretion to do their bidding. This can only happen to one or two Asean leaders but not all the Asean leaders. The only thing the Americans can offer to Asean is war and military hardware that Asean did not want. 

Poor Marcos is now in a very difficult position and being dragged into the anti China camp by the Americans, just a few days after he became the President. What did the Americans have on him that led to this volte face in his foreign polices vis a vis China and the USA?

Which other Asean leader is going to be the next Marcos Jr to be arm twisted by the Americans to go against China?

Indonesia and Malaysia not happy with nuclear subs in the region? But some Asean members are very happy.  Perhaps Indonesia and Malaysia should join the party and ask the Americans to sell nuclear subs to them also. Caveat, the answer likely to be no even if both would want to be subsets of AUKUS, because they are not whites but Muslim states.