Hedging Strategies in Southeast Asia: ASEAN, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam and their Relations with China (Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series)

By: Alfred Gerstl

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Synopsis: Introducing a re-conceptualized hedging framework, this book analyses the relations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the middle powers Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam with China in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The book provides a brief overview of the development of the relationships between the Southeast Asian states, ASEAN and China since 1989. The author argues that ASEAN and the majority of the Southeast Asian governments pursue a hedging strategy towards the rising China. They seek closer economic relations with Beijing, while maintaining strong security relations with Washington and also try to involve Japan. Hedging expands the strategic options of small and middle powers which are in Neorealism often restricted to bandwagoning and balancing. A hedging strategy, however, can simultaneously contain both elements of bandwagoning (e.g., in economics) and balancing (e.g., in security affairs). By examining the relations of ASEAN, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam with China and the US and Japan, the book puts forward a new, re-conceptualized hedging concept that combines foreign and security policy with economics. Adding significant new empirical knowledge, the book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of to the field of International Relations, Security Studies, Political Geography, Economics, History and Asian Studies.