Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia
"Southeast Asia has become a hotbed of strategic rivalry between China and theUnited States. China is asserting its influence in the region through economic statecraft and far-reaching efforts to secure its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, while the United States has promoted a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy that explicitly challenges China's expanding influence—warning other countries that Beijing is practicing predatory economics and advancing governance concepts associated with rising authoritarianism in the region.

In this timely volume, leading experts from Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States assess these great power dynamics by examining the strategic landscape, domestic governance trends, and economic challenges in Southeast Asia, with the latter focusing especially on infrastructure. Among other findings, the authors express concern that U.S. policy has become too concentrated on defense and security, to the detriment of diplomacy and development, allowing China to fill the soft power vacuum and capture the narrative through its signature Belt and Road Initiative. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the policy challenges for Washington as China recovers faster from the outbreak, reinforcing its already advantaged economic position and advancing its strategicgoals as a result.

As the Biden administration begins to formulate its strategy for the region, it would do well to consider these findings and the related policy recommendations that appear in this volume. Much is at stake for U.S. foreign policy and American interests. Southeast Asia includes two U.S. allies—Thailand and the Philippines—important security partners like Singapore, and key emerging partners such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Almost 42,000 U.S. companies export to the 10 countries that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), supporting about 600,000 jobs in the United States, but America's economic standing is increasingly at risk.

"
1138590905
Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia
"Southeast Asia has become a hotbed of strategic rivalry between China and theUnited States. China is asserting its influence in the region through economic statecraft and far-reaching efforts to secure its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, while the United States has promoted a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy that explicitly challenges China's expanding influence—warning other countries that Beijing is practicing predatory economics and advancing governance concepts associated with rising authoritarianism in the region.

In this timely volume, leading experts from Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States assess these great power dynamics by examining the strategic landscape, domestic governance trends, and economic challenges in Southeast Asia, with the latter focusing especially on infrastructure. Among other findings, the authors express concern that U.S. policy has become too concentrated on defense and security, to the detriment of diplomacy and development, allowing China to fill the soft power vacuum and capture the narrative through its signature Belt and Road Initiative. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the policy challenges for Washington as China recovers faster from the outbreak, reinforcing its already advantaged economic position and advancing its strategicgoals as a result.

As the Biden administration begins to formulate its strategy for the region, it would do well to consider these findings and the related policy recommendations that appear in this volume. Much is at stake for U.S. foreign policy and American interests. Southeast Asia includes two U.S. allies—Thailand and the Philippines—important security partners like Singapore, and key emerging partners such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Almost 42,000 U.S. companies export to the 10 countries that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), supporting about 600,000 jobs in the United States, but America's economic standing is increasingly at risk.

"
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Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia

Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia

by Jonathan R. Stromseth (Editor)
Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia

Rivalry and Response: Assessing Great Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia

by Jonathan R. Stromseth (Editor)

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Overview

"Southeast Asia has become a hotbed of strategic rivalry between China and theUnited States. China is asserting its influence in the region through economic statecraft and far-reaching efforts to secure its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, while the United States has promoted a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy that explicitly challenges China's expanding influence—warning other countries that Beijing is practicing predatory economics and advancing governance concepts associated with rising authoritarianism in the region.

In this timely volume, leading experts from Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States assess these great power dynamics by examining the strategic landscape, domestic governance trends, and economic challenges in Southeast Asia, with the latter focusing especially on infrastructure. Among other findings, the authors express concern that U.S. policy has become too concentrated on defense and security, to the detriment of diplomacy and development, allowing China to fill the soft power vacuum and capture the narrative through its signature Belt and Road Initiative. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the policy challenges for Washington as China recovers faster from the outbreak, reinforcing its already advantaged economic position and advancing its strategicgoals as a result.

As the Biden administration begins to formulate its strategy for the region, it would do well to consider these findings and the related policy recommendations that appear in this volume. Much is at stake for U.S. foreign policy and American interests. Southeast Asia includes two U.S. allies—Thailand and the Philippines—important security partners like Singapore, and key emerging partners such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Almost 42,000 U.S. companies export to the 10 countries that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), supporting about 600,000 jobs in the United States, but America's economic standing is increasingly at risk.

"

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780815739142
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 02/16/2021
Pages: 204
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Jonathan R. Stromseth is a senior fellow and Lee Kuan Yew Chair at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in Southeast Asian politics and U.S. Asia policy. He previously served on the secretary of state's policy planning staff, advising the State Department's leadership on China, Southeast Asia, and East Asian and Pacific affairs.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Navigating Great Power Competition in Southeast Asia Jonathan R. Stromseth 1

2 The U.S. "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" Concept Continuity and Change Lindsey Ford 32

3 At a Strategic Crossroads ASEAN Centrality amid Sino-American Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific Richard Javad Heydarian 52

4 The Case for an Australian Step-Up in Southeast Asia Hervé Lemahieu 68

5 China and the West Competing Over Infrastructure in Southeast Asia David Dollar 86

6 Mobilizing the Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Response to China's Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia Roland Rajah 99

7 ASEAN Economic Prospects amid Emerging Turbulence Development Challenges and Implications for Reform Khuong Vu 116

8 Historical Tensions and Contemporary Governance Challenges in Southeast Asia The Case of Indonesia Ben Bland 134

9 Decoupling Governance and Democracy The Challenge of Authoritarian Development in Southeast Asia Thomas Pepinsky 147

Contributors 161

Chronology of the Region October 2018-November 2020 165

Trilateral Dialogue Participants and Observers 175

Index 179

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