SE Asian nations are not US pawns
China DailyMA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY Editor's Note: US Vice-President Kamala Harris' ongoing visit to Southeast Asia is apparently aimed at boosting the US' relations and security cooperation with the region's countries. Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily: US Vice-President Kamala Harris' visits to Singapore and Vietnam from Sunday to Thursday, following the visits of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in July and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in May, is aimed at deepening ties with the Asia-Pacific region, especially with Southeast Asian nations, for strategic reasons. As for Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his talks, via video link, with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he said the US rejects China's "unlawful" maritime claims in the South China Sea and stands with Southeast Asian countries facing Chinese "coercion". Earlier, talking about Harris's visit to Southeast Asia, a White House spokesperson said the vice-president will "focus on defending the international rules-based order, in particular in the South China Sea". Third, Southeast Asian countries do not want to choose sides between China and the US or help the US to contain China's rise, because by doing so they will hurt their own interests.