Trump's summit no-show draws Asian nations closer together

TAKING SIDES

Pence told reporters in Singapore that he had been struck in conversations with world leaders by "the connection that President Trump has made" with them through his vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

However, analysts say that countries across Asia are waiting for the United States to put substance behind its Indo-Pacific rhetoric, and Trump's absence from the summits only served to heighten concerns among Southeast Asian states that Washington no longer has their back.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday it was "very desirable" for ASEAN not to have to take sides with world powers, but there may come a time when it would "have to choose one or the other."

Some Southeast Asian nations may be quietly impressed by the United States' robust approach to Beijing on trade, intellectual property issues and the South China Sea, but others have made it clear they already see China's rise as inevitable.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, asked on Thursday about the U.S. Navy drills, noted that China already occupies contested South China Sea islands and added: "Why do you have to create frictions ... that will prompt a response from China?."

But Cook said Southeast Asian states' hedging and unwillingness to publicly criticise Chinese aggression have contributed to Washington's posture shift in Asia.

"This change is certainly not all because of Trump," he said. "The choices of Southeast Asian states in the end bear some responsibility."