Asean knows a voice that gets Harris' ear

The Democratic presidential contender has as head of her transition team a person who knows the region well.

- Ravi Velloor

Among the uncertainties thrown up by the American presidential election is what sort of Asia policy to expect, should the results throw up a Kamala Harris victory.

Asia has had a sense of Donald Trump, including his penchant to see trade as the weapon of choice in dealing with China. So, the big question about Trump 2.0, if he wins, would be along the lines of what more the once-and-future president has in store, especially now that many of his former advisers have broken with him.

Most pundits believe that a Trump return would see the return of known China hawks such as Mr Peter Navarro, the former deputy assistant to the president, and director of the White House National Trade Council, and Mr Robert Lighthizer, former US trade representative - another trade warrior.

As for the Biden administration, the two people Asians watch most closely are National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

Their instincts, and diplomatic approaches including a desire to put guard rails on the bilateral relationship with China to prevent the rivalry from slipping out of control - are well-known.

However, Ms Harris, though such a key part of the Biden administration, is still a bit of an uncertain quantity, even an enigma. Presidents matter in American foreign policy and until she became Vice-President, Ms Harris had little exposure to foreign policy issues.

When it comes to the key bilateral relationship with China, her running mate Tim Walz taught there as a young man and has some feel for the place though much of it is in the mists of history.

Also, Ms Harris herself has never been to the mainland, although she did meet President Xi Jinping at the 2022 Apec summit, when she stood in for President Joe Biden. It helps, though, that she has visited South-east Asia, and her first overseas trip as Vice-President was to Singapore. The meeting with Mr Xi also took place in Thailand.