Dr Temjenmeren Ao is Associate Fellow in the Southeast Asia & Oceania Centre at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Click here for detailed profile.
Regional countries such as Vietnam have expressed environmental and security-related concerns as regards the Chinese-funded Funan-Techno Canal in Cambodia.
The Philippines is building new security partnerships as well as undertaking new maritime strategies to address some of the asymmetries in the maritime space vis-à-vis China.
The intensification of China’s hard-line territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, matched by its unilateral actions, are threatening regional peace and stability.
The visit of Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang to India reflects the deepening of the partnership which has evolved as a consequence of the rapidly changing regional security dynamics.
ASEAN–China Free Trade Area 3.0: Why Southeast Asia Matters?
The increasing ASEAN–China economic interdependence ensures both sides have a stake in maintaining stability, despite the trust deficit.