It is true that the U.S. inclination to work through tedious multilateral structures is historically poor. One could also make the argument that the sham collective security set-up only works because there is already an effective hegemon in the region, or at least a stable balance of power. Perhaps we can forgive America's impatience with multilateral "talk fests" that achieve few solid outcomes and understand why there is only a perfunctory commitment to multilateral obligations in the region.

However, by dismissing these forums as talk fests, the United States fails to understand why Southeast Asian states use them for leverage-with larger powers and each other. Effective hegemons exploit pre-existing mindsets and processes of regional states rather than dismiss them. Embracing Southeast Asian multilateralism would go a long way toward re-branding the United States as a cooperative and shrewd superpower rather than an arrogant and distant one.

America needs to become, once again, a Southeast Asian leader, not just a global one.

John Lee is a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, and managing director at L21 Pty Ltd, a research organization.

Essay Types: Essay