Deconstructing Order in Southeast Asia in the Age of Trump

Deconstructing Order in Southeast Asia in the Age of Trump With its primary stated goal of re-working the nature of America’s relationship with the rest of the world, the administration of President Donald Trump comes at an awkward time for Southeast Asia. Regional states are at a moment where they are adjusting domestic politics, their relationships with each other and the main inter-governmental organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They are also responding to China, whose role in the region is evolving as Beijing moves into a new stage in its decades-long development into a major world power that is more ready to take robust positions on issues where its interests sometimes diverge with those of its neighbours. Amid these changes, Washington seems to be looking to move away from its longstanding commitment to liberalizing trade and investment in Asia, while taking a more openly muscular stance on security. Specifically, the United States under Trump is pondering possibilities for altering the longstanding basis for its economic and security exchanges with China, which includes adopting policies that differ more starkly from, or even oppose, those of Beijing. is Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. Postal address: Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, Block AS1, #04–10, 11 Arts Link, Singapore 117570; email: chong.jaian@gmail.com. 01 Roundtable-3P.indd 29 Even though it is early days for the Trump administration, current developments suggest good reason to expect uncertainty, possibly even some turmoil, at least in the short term. The regional security and economic architectures in Southeast Asia — primarily the postWorld War II US-backed order on the one hand and ASEAN and various arrangements built around it on the other — are especially unprepared for addressing major shocks or crises...