U.S.-China Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Power Shift or Competitive Coexistence?

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 85-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shambaugh

U.S.-China comprehensive competition is currently playing out on an increasingly global scale. The competition's primary locus is the vast Indo-Asia-Pacific region, and it is centered in Southeast Asia. The United States and China each possess comparative advantages in the region. Beijing's advantages are predominantly economic and diplomatic, whereas Washington's are more multifaceted. Although the Barack Obama administration's “pivot” significantly raised the U.S profile in Southeast Asia, China has also expanded its presence and influence. The two powers are increasingly locked in a classic strategic competition, but the pervasive media narrative in the region holds that China is gaining the upper hand. While this gravitation toward Beijing has become a popular meme, it is not empirically accurate—as the United States still possesses substantial overall advantages. Still, the regional balance is dynamic, and the United States needs to remain comprehensively engaged—or else the balance of influence will default to China. At present, the Sino-American competition in Southeast Asia is not (yet) acute and zero-sum. Therefore, the two powers should be able to manage their tensions, limit their rivalry, and practice competitive coexistence.

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph A. Cossa ◽  
Brad Glosserman ◽  
Michael A. McDevitt ◽  
Nirav Patel ◽  
James Przystup ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
M. V. Ulchenko ◽  

Currently, the Asia-Pacific market is a priority goal for almost all major producers of liquefied natural gas(LNG). This is due to the relatively high price that local consumers are willing to pay, as well as the accelerated growth rate of natural gas consumption. At the same time, China is the main driver of growth in demand for LNGin the world, has concluded a trade agreement with the United States, which involves the purchase of energy resources worth more than $ 52 billion over two years. Given the decline in LNG prices, as well as increased competition, the issue of the prospects for sales of Russian Arctic gas on the market of the Asia-Pacific region becomes particularly relevant.The study provides a generalized assessment of the needs of the main importers of LNG ––China, South Korea and Japan, with a planning horizon of 4–5 years. The relatively high growth rates of the economy, partial rejection of nuclear energy, struggle to improve the environmental situation, as well as the desire to diversify supply routes explain the needs of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region for additional volumes of LNGin the near future. The analysis showed that both Japan and South Korea are interested in increasing the volume of imports of Russian arctic LNG, whose key advantages over most competitors are the price and relative proximity of sales markets. At the same time, the reduction in the number of operating gas drilling rigs in the United States indicates that it will not be possible to maintain the growth rate of LNG production at the level of 2018 and 2019.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Mohamed Kamal ◽  
Khalid Hashim Mohammed

The Middle East region is no longer enjoys the relative importance for the United States. This was due to the massive discoveries of Shale oil in the United States. Many analysts believe that such discovery led to the decline of the US interest in the Middle East and shifting the orientation towards Asia because of the growing importance of the Southeast Asia in the global economy. The United States, in return, has re-defined the role and the size of involvement in the Middle East by adopting a new strategy based on reducing economic and military consequences resulting from the direct investment in the region, which is rejected by US public opinion.


Author(s):  
Ivan Desiatnikov ◽  

The article focuses on the analysis of US-Vietnam relations during the period from 1945 to 1975. The aim of the article is to trace the changes that took place in the US-Vietnam relationship over that period, to identify the factors that influenced them, as well as the approaches used by the heads of the countries to tackle their foreign policy objectives in the region. The author traces the evolution of US policy in Vietnam pursued by Presidents H. Truman, D. Eisenhower, J. Kennedy, L. Johnson and R. Nixon. The United States had diametrically opposed position on relations with the Vietnamese governments, namely, confrontation and military conflict with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and cooperation, military and economic aid to the Republic of Vietnam. The author concludes that the US attitude towards Vietnam was determined by the international situation at that time, including the beginning of the Cold War. The policies of Presidents D. Eisenhower and J. Kennedy were to restrain the expansion of the Communist bloc's sphere of influence. The direct involvement of the US military in the Vietnam conflict, initiated by L. Johnson, pursued the goal of enhancing the prestige of the United States in the global confrontation with the USSR. The split between the Soviet Union and China was used by the US to get out of the Vietnam War and mend relations with China as a counterweight to the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific region. Instead, the Republic of Vietnam, which had been the "junior partner" of the United States, was left to its fate.


Author(s):  
D. V. Suslov

Both Russia and the United States consider the Asia-Pacific as the center of the world economy and politics and assume the active presence in the region crucial for their security and economic development. They did not have such sharp contradictions there as in Europe or in the post-Soviet space. Moreover, some of their interests in the Asia-Pacific Region coincide – such as preventing Chinese hegemony. In this regard, the Russian-American dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific could be an important pillar of the positive agenda of their relations and a factor in their sustainability. Due to foreign policy inertia, the inflexibility of the agenda of Russian-American relations and the inability of the parties to go beyond the usual pattern, such a dialogue has not even begun. Both sides demonstrated strategic myopia. This weakened the resilience of US-Russian relations in the face of new challenges and accelerated their deterioration and disruption to a new confrontation. The Asia-Pacific has become another theater of the US-Russian systemic confrontation. However, it is in the interest of bothRussia and the United States to separate relations in this region from their general confrontation. This will create favorable conditions for Russia to build a balanced partnership system in the Asia-Pacific, which is necessary to consolidate its role as an independent global great power. In addition, the Russian-American dialogue on the Asia-Pacific, or at least the weakening of their confrontation in this region, will reduce its polarization and prevent tensions between the US and its Asian allies and partners.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Vincent P. Caceres

When the war broke out between Spain and the United States, the Spaniards had fought only with wooden ships against modern American warships. This event was known as the Battle of Manila where it made the United States a world super power. The Filipinos fought side by side with the Americans against Spanish colonialism. There was a sense of euphoria a certain scent of fragrance on the interference of the United States as a new player in the Asia Pacific region. When the Treaty of Paris was concluded between Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898 it finally gave the U.S. government an access to enter the Philippines. The presence of the Americans in Sulu was regarded as a new form of colonialism better known as imperialism in the modern age of West America. It affected the status of the sultanate and weakening the century old institution in the east. The coming of the Americans can be considered both as a form of blessing and cursed. The United States, represented by its military and civilian governors introduced policies that affected the entire Sultanate in almost its entire political facet. The paper looked into the strategic programs and designs that made their campaigned in Sulu either as a success or a failure coated with fragrance of promises on one side and nightmare on the other side. Keywords - Imperialism, Treaty, Assimilation and Land grabbing


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