Summitry in the East and India's Asean ambitions

India's positive role in the region was also highlighted during the India-Asean Summit

It was a busy last month in the Indo-Pacific. In the span of a few short days, global leaders convened for the annual Asean and East Asia Summits, chaired by Brunei. These summits, long the focus of major foreign policy action in Southeast Asia, took place against the backdrop of the still-raging Covid-19 pandemic, heightened rivalry between the United States and China as well as the Aukus nuclear submarine pact. The controversy surrounding the exclusion of Myanmar’s military junta also loomed large over the summit. 

To begin with, the evolving global US-China rivalry spilled over into the summitry. President Joe Biden’s