From Singapore to Palawan: how Kamala Harris’ Asean engagement could shape her presidency

Those experiences “will acquit her well in the foreign policy sphere if she ascends to the presidency in 2025, having already become familiar with a region that sits at the epicentre of the US-China rivalry,” said Jonathan Stromseth, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

“These unlawful claims … continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations,” Harris declared in a firm rebuke of China’s expansionist ambitions in the hotly contested waterway.

“We must stand up for principles such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, unimpeded lawful commerce, the peaceful resolution of disputes,” Harris said aboard a Philippine coastguard patrol ship. “We will continue to rally our allies and partners against unlawful and irresponsible behaviour.”

“When the international rules-based order is threatened somewhere, it is threatened everywhere,” Harris warned, underscoring the Biden administration’s commitment to confronting China’s assertiveness.

“Harris herself has shared little about her own thoughts on foreign policy matters,” said Felix Chang, a senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank. “Given the lack of meaningful indications to the contrary, I, like many others, believe there will be broad continuity from the foreign policies of the current Biden administration.”

Still, Stromseth argued that her deep immersion in Southeast Asian affairs as vice-president has equipped her with invaluable insights on the region’s geopolitical flashpoints, from China’s maritime ambitions to climate challenges in the Mekong subregion.

“She has gained first-hand experience on hot-button issues,” Stromseth said.

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Kamala Harris, a trailblazer