To survive US-China rivalry, Asean must work to dial down tensions

For the superpowers, the annual survey also helps point out areas they can improve upon in courting Asean.

However, the harsh reality is that Asean members do not get to pick who they would most like to work with. Japan, for instance, is well and away the most trusted major power but Asean clearly needs China for economic growth, and the reverse might also be true.

Asean is at the forefront of the US’ efforts to preserve its global dominance through China containment strategies so it is more than happy to provide military support to its regional treaty allies. Even Malaysia and Indonesia, for all the harsh rhetoric about US hypocrisy in the Gaza war, are unlikely to shy away from seeking US support to defend their territory.

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Despite both China and the US officially endorsing Asean centrality, the reality is that a strong and unified Asean should favour neither. To maximise their interests, it will always be easier for superpowers to divide and conquer by singling out friendlier states. Asean leaders must not be naive and must explore ways to diffuse US-China tensions as a collective strategy.

Asean cannot and must not expect to reap the benefits of US-China rivalry – such as from companies reshoring out of China – without being prepared to pay the price should the rivalry spiral out of control.

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Besides Singapore, all of Asean must promote the bloc as an honest broker and a neutral platform to seek solutions to the US-China rivalry. The last thing the region