KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Bernama): South-East Asian countries have a special responsibility and a crucial role to play in maintaining the balance between the two powers - China and the United States - said Professor Wang Gungwu.
The National University of Singapore professor said this includes how Southeast Asia responds - by speaking with one voice, acting collectively, and prioritising regional interests over individual national concerns.
"This could make a big difference to what happens to the United States-China relations in our region. I believe that the 10 leaders of the region are aware of that, ” he said at the inaugural ThinkChina Forum - China’s Future: Navigating a Changing World Order, held in Singapore with a satellite session here on Friday (March 28).
According to Wang, while South-East Asian countries may sometimes disagree on priorities, they fundamentally share a commitment to unity on strategically vital matters.
"I think that is, quite frankly, the only way Southeast Asia can continue to survive and play a meaningful role in the history of the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya’s Institute of China Studies Director, Associate Professor Ngeow Chow Bing, noted that while US President Donald Trump aimed to "make America great again", some of his administration’s policies may have been counterproductive.
".. in that case, you will actually see stagnation or, if not decline, of the two largest economies at the same time. But this is one of the scenarios and probably Southeast Asia will have to prepare…,” he said.
Another panellist, Professor Yasheng Huang from Epoch Foundation, observed that the rise of the East has occurred in an era of increasing openness - politically, economically, and intellectually - driven by globalisation and integration into the global economy.
"If you look at the scientific and technological achievements that China has made, many of them have been made based on collaboration and cooperation,” he said.
ThinkChina is an English-language portal focused on China and powered by Lianhe Zaobao, the flagship Chinese daily of Singapore Press Holdings. -- Bernama
