Southeast Asian countries now recognise they may have no choice but to take sides in the Sino-American rivalry, at least in certain sectors, even as they seek to avoid that dilemma, a US congressional advisory panel heard on Thursday.
Advertisement
Moreover, this reality should prompt Washington to adopt a sector-by-sector approach to the region and shape its choices before Beijing does, according to testimony given at the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission.
“Increasingly, they are accepting that, even though they don’t like it … they might have to choose on specific issues,” said Lynn Kuok of the Washington-based Brookings Institution, referring to Southeast Asian countries.
With that in mind, the US should view competition in the region in terms of “swing sectors” and not “swing states” as other observers have suggested, said Prashanth Parameswaran of the Wilson Centre, also a Washington think tank.
Swing states are countries that possess clout but are not firmly aligned with either the US or China.
The swing-states approach for Southeast Asia, as advanced by former senior American officials like Jon Finer, Joe Biden’s deputy national security adviser, would prioritise ties with regional heavyweights like Indonesia.