Members participate in the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month. Photo: EPA-EFE
China’s Asean influence sets stage for new superpower battleground with US, as the ball shifts to Biden’s court
- In America’s absence, China has been strengthening its economic hand in Southeast Asia, while the region is becoming increasingly important amid trade disputes
- But ‘incorrigible hedgers’ in Asean do not want to become pawns in a geopolitical game between the world’s largest economies
Members participate in the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month. Photo: EPA-EFE