ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the current state of play in China’s relations with Southeast Asia in order to test the widely publicized proposition that China’s rise in Asia is being accompanied by an emerging China-centered regional order that is marginalizing the influence of the previous regional leader, the United States. A careful analysis of China’s relations with its various neighboring countries in recent years shows that China has made the most significant gains in relations with Southeast Asia and South Korea, and that these gains have coincided with a decline in US influence in both areas exacerbated by controversial US foreign policies. Thus, if China’s rise truly is leading to a Chinacentered order in Asia that marginalizes the influence of the United States, the trends in the Southeast Asia-China relationship in the context of Southeast Asia-US developments should provide important evidence and indicators.
