Sino-Japanese strategic competition in Southeast Asia: comparing strategic engagements of China and Japan with ASEAN

Abstract

Existing accounts of China's and Japan's strategic engagements in Southeast Asia

tent to be cooperative interpretations. This thesis argues that current explanations are

inadequate in understanding China's and Japan's behaviors. Essentially, the thesis

argues with an alternative interpretation focusing on competition - China's and

Japan's engagements with Southeast Asian countries are driven by strategic

competition between the two powers instead of by the purpose to forge cooperation

with ASEAN. In this round of Sino-Japanese competition in the 2010s, the strategic

goal of Japan as a late comer to Southeast Asia is to "win" over as much support

from ASEAN as it can; for China, a status quo in this region, its goal is striving for

"not to lose". This interpretation is achieved through observing their strategic

engagement activities, bilaterally and multilaterally, with Southeast Asian countries.

It further argues that the existing situations and ASEAN' s strategic considerations

are more likely to favour China's strategic goal.

Keyword

Strategic engagement, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, competition