ASEAN faces tough choices amid US-China rivalry
Leaders from more than 30 nations will gather on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit focused on economic unity, environmental issues and regional security. President Donald Trump plans to attend a ceremony where Thailand and Cambodia will finalize a peace agreement following five days of summer border fighting that ended partly through American economic pressure.
Southeast Asian countries face mounting pressure to align with either Washington or Beijing as superpower competition intensifies over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China claims nearly 90 percent of these resource-rich waters through its nine-dash line despite violations of international law and neighboring nations’ economic zones.
Trump’s tariff policies and territorial statements about the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada have diminished American credibility across the region. Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos maintain close Chinese ties, while the Philippines balances American defense cooperation from its 1951 treaty with strong Chinese economic partnerships.
Indonesia pursues Western defense relationships while expanding its economic ties with China. Analysts note regional nations increasingly doubt American reliability amid Chinese military expansion near the Spratly and Paracel islands.
