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US Marines during a drill in the Philippines, one of Washington’s main allies in the region. Photo: EPA-EFE

Southeast Asia seeking ‘balance’ between US and China in region, report concludes

  • Tsinghua University says countries welcome greater involvement by Washington but they won’t reduce ties with Beijing
  • Report says countries that ‘lack trust’ or have disputes with China will welcome US military involvement
Southeast Asian nations welcome the greater involvement of the United States and China in the region to ensure that one does not become too dominant, according to a Tsinghua University report.
The report released by the university’s Centre for International Security and Strategy on Friday said member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are seeing enhanced participation of the US economically and militarily, but that will not lessen their cooperation with China.
The United States has deepened its engagement with Asean under Joe Biden’s presidency. On Friday, Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the US, said Manila and Washington are considering talks between top diplomatic and defence officials over potential flashpoints such as the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The Philippines and the United States have a long-standing Mutual Defence Treaty and take part in joint training exercises each year.

But the Tsinghua University report said the US is also stepping up military engagement with the region. For example, it is providing coastguard vessels and intelligence sharing with Vietnam, and coordinating with allies such as Japan, Australia and Japan, to deploy military vessels to the South China Sea, where sovereignty is contested by Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbours.

China ‘open’ to defence ministers’ talks with US during Asean security forum

The report said Asean “welcomes different major powers in the region to ensure that there are checks and balances”.

“Countries that have territorial sovereignty and maritime rights disputes with China, and those with a lack of trust in China’s role in the region following its rise will actively invite and accommodate the deployment of US military”.

The report said the US engagement with the region is aimed at “exhausting China’s strategic resources”.

It said China’s relations with Asean has been increasing, with the bloc becoming the country’s largest trading partner. China’s imports from Singapore for the first quarter of 2022, for example, reached US$9.3 billion, making an increase of 5.8 per cent.

But the US and Asean established a comprehensive strategic partnership last year, with the US pledging to provide more aid and training for defence sector professionals.

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Explained: the history of China’s territorial disputes

Explained: the history of China’s territorial disputes

Asean is also part of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which focuses on trade, supply chains, clean energy, decarbonisation and infrastructure tax and anti-corruption.

Asean officials and critics have expressed concerns over being dragged into the conflict between China and the US, and have called on the two nations to get along.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said it is crucial to avoid getting entrapped in major power rivalries.

“I don’t work for Beijing, I don’t work for Washington DC, I work for the Philippines,” he said. “That really translates into a very simple statement of foreign policy, which is: I promote the national interest.”

Tough road ahead for Asean chair Indonesia over Myanmar, South China Sea issues

The report added that regional countries would refrain from taking sides.

“Asean knows well that only by developing a balanced relationship with China and the United States can it play its own role. Therefore, it refuses to choose sides and refuses to weaken the cooperation agenda with China in order to cater to the United States,” it said.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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