ABSTRACT
The smaller and medium-sized powers of Southeast Asia are experienced hosts of great-power influence and competition. The question of whether big-power rivalry will highlight the clear divides that already exist within Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), despite ASEAN intentions to the contrary, similarly remains unanswered as yet. As China has re-emerged as an increasingly important regional influence, in particular through its economic and diplomatic interactions in the region, so a debate has developed on the role of 'balance of power' politics in Southeast Asia. Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, the Philippines are ASEAN's 'front line' in sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea. Fellow claimants Malaysia and Brunei have been considerably more reluctant to draw attention to their disputes with China in the South China Sea. Cambodia's ambivalence towards too active an involvement in the South China Sea disputes was clearly highlighted during its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2012.
