The Biden administration has made it clear that it wants to directly challenge China’s dominance in the Global South in both infrastructure development and vaccine distribution. In addition to facing a formidable competitor who has a significant head start in both areas, the U.S. will also have to overcome its own record that understandably provokes skepticism among policymakers in a number of developing countries.
Charles Dunst, a Southeast Asia analyst at the Eurasia Group, noted in an article published on Monday how the Biden administration is already struggling in ASEAN from a series of diplomatic missteps and a lack of engagement.
