...With maybe the exception of Cambodia, Myanmar or North Korea....
Because they are friends? ... sorry just couldn't resist
.... and eventually ASEAN will have to choose which side it must go.....
Fully agree
.... If the US amend this mistake, the US should not have to worry about China overtaking its influence in the Asia Pacific at all.
The obvious issue is that the USA only want's to control - respectively the governments and as such their trade dependence. I do not see the USA actively helping S.E.A. countries aside from $ droppings of water onto a hot stone. And inspiring them to buy US weapons with the little money these countries have anyway. Or the US government and companies inspiring them towards IMO ridiculous prestige projects - like Lombok's 2nd International airport.
The huge rise in many S.E.A. GDP statistics of the last 10 years is simply due to China opening up trade relations and Chinese companies investing into those countries and infrastructure projects - independent of additionally granting Chinese state loans.
The more the living style rises the more happy and peaceful a population becomes and as such forming the basis for a stable country. Is the USA involved in barter trade? more or less not because it doesn't fit into capitalism.
China? like hell - we don't just want your bananas and squeeze a country and it's competitors to the last cent. China places a fair price for e.g. agrarian products and delivers e.g. a 1000 buses to a certain African country. And this is what has given China a huge leverage towards the USA or the EU's commercial practices.
I am actually not surprised about China's very good reputation in Africa, and how many Africans can speak Chinese and the term friends is a commonly found and used term. As for S.E.A. almost every country has it's own growing developing car.vehicle market - and fact is that in e.g. Indonesia the local vehicle manufacturers are using their own political lobby to block such barter-trade proposals. Good for them maybe - but doesn't solve the padi farmers issue on e.g. Lombok how to get to the next town.
Historically there are clear reasons as to why many S.E.A. locals don't like or fancy Chinese. Unfortunately however they are not really honest with themselves as to why the Chinese communities in e.g. Indonesia or e.g. Philippines became rich and they the locals did not. Instead of recognizing the actual causes they prefer to see Chinese aka China as an evil opportunist and transfer this image onto today's China.
The USA off course is aware about these sentiments and exploits and incites them - think about it. !!
Somehow S.E.A. countries are "blind" or reluctant towards recognizing as to what they could actually achieve together with China.
If China had not yet get the message, a little hint on (still) how important the US for most of the Asia-Pacific countries is RIMPAC, name me one Chinese sponsored event that could attract participation like that of RIMPAC.
I am not a naval guy - don't really know much regarding this topic. Respectively the "actual military benefit gained" from participating in that maneuver.
But i could envisage a Chinese version of RIMPAC in the next 10 years to come and being joint by other S.E.A. and pacific countries.
Maybe starting off with Myanmar, Cambodia, Russia, North-Korea
![Big grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Sri-Lanka, Solomon, Tonga etc.