Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby told an audience in Manila that U.S. interests are “more engaged than ever in the Indo-Pacific.” “America is definitely not disengaging from Asia,” Colby said in a speech in Manila. Both of these have sent economic reverberations through Asia, and undermined the policy approach preferred by Colby. But security commitments have never been the greatest shortcoming of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. While the U.S. can help maintain a stable balance of power in Asia, it remains – at least for now – an economically disruptive force on the global stage, to the detriment of its long-term standing in Southeast Asia.