China-US Competition And Cooperation In Southeast Asia:ASEAN Factor

Southeast Asia,with geographic importance,huge population and strong economic growth,has caught the attention of both the United States and China.Since 2017,the Trump administration has redesigned the US policy towards Southeast Asia based on the reconsideration of major power competition as the priority on the US security agenda.Since 2013,China has also developed a Chinese approach to Southeast Asia,with the vision of China-ASEAN community of shared future and the implementation of the BRI.To hedge against China's growing influence in this region,the Trump administration emphasizes ASEAN's significance to its Indo-Pacific strategy to win the favor of ASEAN and attempts to sideline China.The thesis starts with return to major power competition of the Trump administration according to three national strategy reports released after Trump's inauguration.The history of the US Southeast Asia policy since the end of the Cold War offers a background for understanding Trump's policy.There is continuity as well as change in Trump's Southeast Asia Policy compared with Obama's.Then the thesis dilates on China's policy towards Southeast Asia since 2013 with the summary of its background,principles,content,progress and method.In the third chapter,the thesis studies ASEAN's norms to deal with external powers after learning the historical lesson from the Cold War,including commitment to ZOPFAN,Centrality and Neutrality and ASEAN-led reginal cooperation mechanisms.The distinct “ASEAN way” is also presented in its dealing with current strategic competition in this region.In a word,despite the US strategic competition against China in Southeast Asia,guided by its principles,ASEAN can exert its influence instead of being forced to choose a side through the whole set of ASEAN-led regional cooperation frameworks.With the considerable positive influence by ASEAN plus the authentically inclusive Chinese approach,China-US cooperation in Southeast Asia is to be increased through such approaches as Jakarta Channel and the third-party market cooperation.