Opinion | US-China relations: Southeast Asia cannot afford another neocolonial great power rivalry
- A new great power contest would be a disaster for Southeast Asian states which struggle to maintain autonomy and prefer to selectively follow the wishes of bigger powers
- The international order must accommodate China’s interests, and the US should compromise while it can influence the terms rather than resist the inevitable
As the United States and China ramp up their struggle for the hearts and minds of Southeast Asian nations, it is clear we are in a new neocolonial era in the region.
Although the colonies finally won their precious independence, a period of neocolonialism followed. The former colonial masters continued to impose economic, political, cultural and sometimes military pressures to influence the foreign and domestic policies of their former colonies. Now, just as they have finally begun to throw off their lingering colonial shackles, a new neocolonial era is in the offing.
Nevertheless, the current contest still involves coercion that clearly challenges Southeast Asian countries’ independence and sovereignty. They were – and are – viewed as pawns in a great power contest.
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Washington’s hardened position on Beijing’s claims in South China Sea heightens US-China tensions
The world has changed dramatically since the previous colonial and neocolonial periods in Southeast Asia. China has now risen and is challenging the victors in the Cold War and the post-World War II liberal international order that the US helped build and now leads.