ASEAN's balancing act: Systemic risks of leveraging US-China rivalry for regional gain
Original framing: “Asean countries warned against exploiting US-China tensions for short-term gain” — South China Morning Post
The original framing omits the historical precedent of ASEAN's non-alignment during the Cold War, the role of indigenous diplomatic traditions in Southeast Asia, and the structural constraints faced by smaller states in a bipolar system. It also neglects the perspectives of ASEAN member states and the broader implications of great power competition on regional security and development.
Medium structural omission detected in mainstream coverage.
This narrative is produced by a Chinese academic aligned with Beijing's strategic interests and disseminated through a pro-China media outlet. It serves to reinforce China's position as a stabilizing force in the region while obscuring the broader geopolitical dynamics that shape ASEAN's foreign policy. The framing downplays the agency of ASEAN states and the structural forces that compel them to balance between competing powers.
ASEAN's current balancing act mirrors its Cold War-era non-alignment strategy, where states sought to avoid entanglement in the US-Soviet rivalry. Historical parallels show that such strategies are often driven by structural necessity rather than opportunism.
ASEAN's balancing act in the China-US rivalry is not merely opportunistic but a systemic response to the structural constraints of great power competition.