Opinion | Asia’s week of summits put Russia under the spotlight, but US-China relations stole the show

At the Asean, G20 and Apec summits, the tone of world leaders’ discussions suggests global powers’ rivalry is a long way from abating

Notably, China’s Xi struck a milder tone, in the face of Western attempts to drag Russia into the spotlight and during meetings with other leaders

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US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reach out to shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on November 14 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: AP

Published: 3:30am, 25 Nov 2022Updated: 4:16am, 25 Nov 2022

The Indo-Pacific region has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity, with global leaders flocking to the Asean gathering in Cambodia, the G20 summit in Indonesia and the Apec meeting in Thailand.

However, the tone of the leaders’ discussions suggests global powers’ rivalry is a long way from abating. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Western countries for trying to “politicise” a joint declaration at the G20 summit with criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, although Beijing would not be drawn into condemning Moscow, leaders from the United States, France and the Netherlands did their best in Indonesia to talk Chinese President Xi Jinping into at least publicly opposing the use of nuclear weapons, which has recently been hyped as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s last resort.

The East Asia Summit in Cambodia, which had been the first stop of the world leaders this month, ended without a joint communique following discord between Russia and the US – specifically, Lavrov blamed the Americans for insisting on “absolutely unacceptable language” regarding the situation in Ukraine. The Russian foreign minister also accused the West of seeking to militarise Southeast Asia “with an obvious focus on containing China, and containing Russian interests”.

While in Cambodia, Lavrov also met the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – all countries which have not imposed sanctions on Russia. Another highlight in Cambodia was the symbolic act of Ukraine signing a peace accord with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; this has no practical implications, but signifies the bloc’s growing role as an active player in geopolitics.

Unlike the East Asia Summit, both the Group of 20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings concluded with joint statements deploring Russia’s actions in Ukraine. As Indonesian President Joko Widodo explained, the negotiation for the G20 leaders’ declaration was “very tough” and kept the leaders up until midnight.

Opinion | Asia’s week of summits put Russia under the spotlight, but US-China relations stole the show

At the Asean, G20 and Apec summits, the tone of world leaders’ discussions suggests global powers’ rivalry is a long way from abating Notably, China’s Xi struck a milder tone, in the face of Western attempts to drag Russia into the spotlight and during meetings with other leaders

At the Asean, G20 and Apec summits, the tone of world leaders’ discussions suggests global powers’ rivalry is a long way from abating

Notably, China’s Xi struck a milder tone, in the face of Western attempts to drag Russia into the spotlight and during meetings with other leaders