NEWS & EVENTS

Strengthening the U.S. Ties with Southeast Asia

On September 28, Ambassador David Shear, Senior Scholar at the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, provided testimony for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation on the topic of “Strengthening the U.S. Ties with Southeast Asia.”

In his remarks, Amb. Shear maintained that in order to be a player in the future of Southeast Asia, the United States will need to engage the region with a positive message that appeals to Southeast Asian aspirations. He made the case that the Quad and AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK, and the US, are key tools for the United States to utilize in cooperating with Southeast Asian countries on issues of importance to the region, like infrastructure finance and digital trade. Amb. Shear remarked on the need for the United States to engage Southeast Asia in discussions on supply chain security and made the point that the United States can work with its partners and allies who are similarly engaged in this area. Amb. Shear stated that the QUAD and AUKUS give ASEAN the confidence they need to bring leverage to bear on China in order to pursue their own interests in a free and open way.