Aug 20, 2021: US Vice President Kamala Harris will leave for Asia on Friday, following the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Washington’s deperate evacuation attempts for American citizens and vulnerable Afghans will surely cast a long shadow over the trip.

Although the visit was announced in late July, the group captured Kabul on August 15 before the withdrawal of large numbers of US and foreign troops across the country, observers said. That fact puts a question mark over US credibility to supports its allies and must therefore be taken into account.

Recent events in Afghanistan have raised the question of whether allies can rely on Washington to deliver on long-standing security commitments.

In a briefing late Thursday, senior US officials sought to separate the purpose of the visit from Afghanistan’s progress, saying the purpose of the visit was to further advance the goal of a “free and open” Indian Pacific region. And the focus on revitalizing their alliances and partnerships in the region.

The visit comes as the Biden administration reiterates its foreign policy priorities in tackling China’s economic and military influence. US political influence and naval dominance in Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia are “strategically important and economically important for this country,” a White House official said.

“Ensuring open sea lanes in Asia, which is a US priority, is the difference between another country’s continued involvement in the civil war,” the official said, referring to Afghanistan.

Biden administration officials also expressed confidence that the rise of the Taliban would not undermine allied confidence in US commitment to far-reaching strategic goals throughout Asia. “We are confident that our partners across the Pacific see the United States as a steadfast partner. And that will certainly be one of the things that the Vice President emphasizes on this journey.”

After visiting Singapore, an economic powerhouse that shares concerns over Beijing’s increasingly assertive behaviour in the region, Harris will visit Vietnam, a vocal opponent of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The trip to Hanoi will come as Biden officials continue to bat down comparisons of the rushed evacuation in Afghanistan and the chaotic 1975 US evacuation of Americans and some Vietnamese from a CIA roof in Saigon in 1975 as Viet Cong took the city.

Horrific images of Afghans killed in a US evacuation flight shortly after the Taliban entered Kabul have fueled condemnation of refugee lawyers.

Still, some experts point to a silver lining for allies concerned about China, saying that withdrawing from Afghanistan would help Washington free up resources that re-focus on countering Beijing’s policies.

While critics question the timing and optics of the trip, on Thursday, US officials also maintained that while Afghanistan was excluded from the Asia tour, Harris would continue to work on progress issues.

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