Southeast Asia is playing an ever-growing part in China’s investment and diplomatic decisions, particularly as Beijing’s rivalry with Washington heats up. In the second of a four-part series on China’s ties with Asean, Dewey Sim looks at the challenges facing the bloc and what it must do to remain relevant.
A long and heated rivalry between the United States and China could spell trouble for Asean – a scenario that would expose cracks within – and pose “tremendous risk” to – the regional bloc as member states grow increasingly divided over their approaches to the superpowers, according to diplomatic observers.
