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

• Main Author: Luo, Nan
• Other Authors: Ralf Jan Diederik Emmers
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::International business::Asia
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/65180
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

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