(Dan Tri) – US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Laos is expected to highlight the competition for influence in Southeast Asia between the US and China in the context of Laos seeking to `escape China`.
US President Barack Obama is on a historic visit to Laos on the occasion of the ASEAN Summit taking place from September 6-8.
Shadow of China
Chinese high-speed train model built for Laos.
China plays an important role in Laos’ economic transformation, with about 760 investment projects worth about 6.7 billion USD.
`Laos has relations with many ASEAN countries but China is really a big partner,` said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
However, Laos is looking to remove this `label` to balance its foreign policy.
Because it depends heavily on China in the economic field, finding a way to `escape China` for Laos will not be easy.
From construction sites in Vientiane to the northern border provinces of Laos, Chinese symbols appear everywhere, and even in special economic zones on the border, Chinese is considered a
Economic expert Shunsuke Bando of the Asian Development Bank said that `investment activities in Laos are completely dominated by China`.
Can Mr. Obama help Laos `escape China`?
US President Barack Obama (right) and Lao President Choummaly Sayasone at a conference in California in February. (Photo: AFP)
On August 6, Mr. Obama became the first sitting president in American history to visit Laos.
For Lao officials, rebalancing regional relations is an economic imperative.
Carl Thayer, a defense analyst at Australia’s University of New South Wales, said that Laos’ foreign policy strategy is to maintain a certain diplomatic independence.
Therefore, establishing relations with the US is a policy priority for Laos to balance foreign and economic policies.
Michael Fuchs, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said that despite being `skeptical of the US, Laos is still willing to establish closer relations with Washington` to limit China’s influence.
However, expert Thitinan said that to escape China’s influence, Laos also needs to rely on its long-term relationship with Japan.
Minh Phuong
According to SCMP
