As the great powers vie for influence, how can ASEAN stay united?

The importance of economic, political and security cooperation among ASEAN member states has become increasingly apparent in recent decades. But as the great powers vie for influence in the region, the cracks in this fragile unity are at risk of growing.

Over the past few decades, ASEAN has developed from being a platform primarily designed to discuss regional political and security cooperation, to a regional bloc with a greater focus on economic and social integration. Brunei’s crude oil and natural gas exports for example, or Singapore’s global finance centre, and Vietnam’s highly skilled but low-cost labour force.
Both these economic and security issues are all understood realities. To date, China has lent the Laotian government about $7.2 billion and FDI in Laos by China has risen by more than 200% since 2006.

The impact of national development projects in the Mekong basin have often impinged on other states’ interest and contributed to intra-regional tensions which hinder solidarity

This article was written by THI MONG TUYEN TRAN AND JUN JIE LEE

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