Southeast Asia between the US’ and China’s Visions for the World

Nedić, Pavle (2023) Southeast Asia between the US’ and China’s Visions for the World. In: Conference Proceedings / The 3rd “Dialogues on China” International Academic Conference: New Chinese Initiatives for a Changing Global Security November 9-10, 2023, Belgrade. Institute of International Politics and Economics,, Belgrade, pp. 111-124. ISBN 978-86-7067-321-2

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Abstract

The Chinese initiatives proposed in 2022 and 2023, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, along with the already existing Belt and Road Initiative, jointly present Beijing’s views on the principles, values, and efforts for the future. On the other hand, Washington has a vision for the world that builds on the well-known and established rules, patterns, and norms promoted by the US since the end of the Cold War. The US National Security Strategy, unveiled by the Biden administration in October 2022 as the document concerned with the security aspect of this vision, is the most recent one that points to how the US sees the world and its role in it. The countries of Southeast Asia (SEA), the region where these two great powers directly interact with each other through overlapping spheres of influence, are particularly concerned about how these two contrasting visions affect them. The paper aims to determine how the SEA countries will respond to the new global initiatives launched by China and how these initiatives will impact relations in the region between local actors and great powers alike, particularly in the context of regional stability and the balance of power in the region. The paper draws from the works of Michael Leifer and the concepts of the English School of International Relations, primarily the writings of Hedley Bull, by which Leifer was greatly influenced, and is based on the idea that the balance of power is a strategy willingly employed by the states to achieve regional order. The paper will argue that the SEA countries will find aspects of China’s initiatives appealing, especially those aligned with the core principles of ASEAN, while remaining careful to avoid being pulled into the binary division in the battle between democracy and autocracy.

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