China and Southeast Asia in the Xi Jinping Era

Contributions by Trin Aiyara, Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim, Ngeow Chow-Bing, Frank Cibulka, Stephen C. Druce, Narayanan Ganesan, Abdul Hai Julay, Amrita Jash, Tai Wei Lim, William B. Noseworthy, Victor R. Savage, Bilveer Singh, Andrea Chloe Wong, Teri Shaffer Yamada Edited by Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim, Frank Cibulka

Publication date:

12 December 2018

Length of book:

264 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

236x154mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498581110

In 2012, the Communist Party of China (CPC) inaugurated the Xi Jinping era when it elected him to be the General Secretary of the CPC. The following year Xi was elected President of the People’s Republic of China. The Xi Jinping era has seen a remarkable transformation of Chinese foreign policy, which has been adjusted to facilitate the achievement of what Xi has proclaimed as “the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation.” Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative has become a major element of Chinese economic diplomacy, while the Chinese military-industrial complex under his leadership has strengthened China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea with reclamation works and the installation of military facilities on its occupied islands. This edited volume will focus on the countries of Southeast Asia and examine how their relations with China have been transformed in the Xi Jinping era.

Introduction: By Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim and Frank Cibulka

Chapter 1: In Search of the Relevant Past: China and Southeast Asia Forty Years Ago by Frank Cibulka

Chapter 2: Myanmar-China Relations Under President Xi Jinping by Narayanan Ganesan

Chapter 3: Beijing, Bangkok, and Provinces: Continuity and Change in Thailand’s Policies of the China-initiated High-Speed Railway Development (2011-2018) by Trin Aiyara

Chapter 4: The Connectivity Potential and Vulnerabilities of Laos: Case Study of a Land-locked Southeast Asian Node in the Belt and Road Initiative by Tai Wei Lim

Chapter 5: Cambodia’s Changing Landscape: Rhetoric and Reality by Teri Shaffer Yamada

Chapter 6: The Eastern Sea (Biển Đông) in the Era of Xi Jinping: Vietnam’s Deliberations by William B. Noseworthy

Chapter 7: A “Model” for ASEAN Countries?: Sino-Malaysian Relations during the Xi Jinping Era by Ngeow Chow-Bing

Chapter 8: China and Singapore: From the Ancient to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim

Chapter 9: The Road to Brunei’s Economic Diversification: Contemporary Brunei-China Relations by Stephen C. Druce and Abdul Hai Julay

Chapter 10: Indonesia-China Relations Under President Xi Jinping by Bilveer Singh

Chapter 11: The Philippines’ Policy and Perspectives: A Shifting Strategic Stance towards China by Andrea Chloe Wong

Chapter 12: Small Countries Do Matter in Diplomacy: China’s Relations with Timor-Leste and Brunei Darussalam by Amrita Jash

Afterword: China’s Ascendency: ASEAN States Belt Up and Adapt for the Geopolitical Roller Coaster Ride by Victor R. Savage

This is an updated and timely study of the changing relationship between China and Southeast Asian countries. The rapidly changing roles of the U.S. and China as superpowers in the region have led to unstable, but also unexpected, results.