Why Southeast Asia feels relief and caution after the Xi-Trump summit
Southeast Asian nations are expressing cautious relief following the Xi-Trump summit, hoping for reduced regional friction and economic stability. However, analysts warn that underlying disputes remain and that the region risks being sidelined by a potential 'G2' dynamic.
Why it matters
The geopolitical stability of Southeast Asia is heavily dependent on the relationship between the US and China, impacting trade and security.
Southeast Asia welcomes the continued thaw in US-China ties after the Xi-Trump summit, with analysts saying that less friction between the two powers over issues such as the South China Sea could lower the pressure on the region.
Yet, caution persists as the summit left deeper disputes unresolved.
“Stable great-power relations – competitive but with sturdy guardrails – will create more legroom for third countries to navigate an increasingly complex world,” according to Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, a research fellow at the Manila-based Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.
Such stability, he said, could ease pressure on countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to pick a side, slow supply-chain disintegration and reduce the intensity of great-power competition in long-standing flashpoints like the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
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