The key reason behind the lukewarm reception by Asean to Washington’s sales pitch on a free and open Indo-Pacific is that the Indo-Pacific sounds like it targets a rising China, and Asean does not want to be forced to choose sides, said regional watchers. Asean’s ambivalence is not out of character, said Assoc Prof Alan Chong of RSIS. “Asean is reprising its strategic role of standing in the middle. It can’t be helped. That’s the best way to play the diplomatic strategy when you have great powers contending against one another,” he said.