China’s influence in Southeast Asia

The U.S. Is Losing Ground to China in Southeast Asia by Joshua Kurlantzick (Council on Foreign Relations).

The issue discussed in the article is the contrast between the United States and China in terms of their influence on Southeast Asia. The article suggests that “economic relations, defense networks, diplomatic influence, and cultural influence” are the four main areas in which China’s influence over Southeast Asia is measured. It is also true that China is now the most dominant economic and political strategic force in Southeast Asia. China’s huge aid and investment in Malaysia has resulted in enormous economic dominance. This includes the Belt and Road policy mentioned in the lecture, which allows China to finance and build key infrastructure in the region through the Big Rise Initiative (BRI) for trade, investment, and infrastructure projects.

As we know, China has always had strong ties to Southeast Asia historically, culturally, and geographically, and the United States, as a powerful Western developed country, has cooperated with Southeast Asia on many occasions. China has increased its soft power in the region through cultural exchanges and other influences, all of which add to the thinking about the impact of U.S. relations with Southeast Asia.

This article was originally published in WPR (World Politics Review) by Joshua Kurlantzick, who is a Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Kurlantzke researched the politics and economics of Southeast Asia as well as China’s relations with Southeast Asia, including Chinese investment, aid, and diplomacy. His insights into China’s relations with Southeast Asia make this article a reliable source of information, he thinks “China’s economic rise in Southeast Asia may be unstoppable, but Washington is not doing itself any favors in the race for economic influence. Washington’s close friends in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly distant, a costly trend for the United States and one that could become a dangerous one in the future.”

An accompanying photo shows U.S. President Joe Biden greeting other leaders at the ASEAN Summit 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia November 12, 2022 Courtesy of Kevin Lamarque/Reuters. This photo serves as the headline image next to the larger headline, with the leaders shaking each other’s hands demonstrating the strong ties between the U.S. and ASEAN countries. The theme of the article points out that the U.S. doesn’t have as much influence as China and Southeast Asia right now, so this image in my opinion helps the article to make the readers more aware that the U.S. is going to have to make some actions and more solutions to make the U.S. and Southeast Asian relationship go further and strengthen its influence in different ways. The photo article and the author are seeing the relationship with Southeast Asia from the perspective of the U.S. The author has done a lot of research and study about China’s relationship with Southeast Asia and has a deep understanding of the influence that is involved.

source: Council on Foreign Relations. (n.d.). The U.S. is losing ground to China in Southeast Asia. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/article/us-losing-ground-china-southeast-asia

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