The dilemmas of regional states: How Southeast Asian states view and respond to India-China maritime competition

摘要

This article examines contemporary perceptions and the corresponding responses of Southeast Asian states vis-a-vis India-China maritime competition. Specifically, it examines the cases of Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries provide useful cross-comparisons as, bilaterally, all three states relate uniquely to China and the maritime disputes in the South China Sea on the basis of two structural conditions - their formal security relationship with the US and whether they are a claimant state in the South China Sea dispute. The link between the range afforded by these three cases and the manner in which it drives their perceptions towards India-China maritime competition forms the core of this article. These three countries perceive differing levels of threat from China and have chosen a range of external balancing strategies to deal with these perceived threats. The nature of US-China and India-China security competition, the latter specifically in the maritime realm, structures the external balancing strategies they have pursued. There are, this article argues, important links between US-China and India-China strategic competition in structuring the external balancing strategies these countries pursue.