Maritime Asia: A Southeast Asian Perspective

Southeast Asia is, and always has been, a pivotal point between the Indian and Pacific oceans, economically, culturally and strategically. Its maritime interests vary widely from country to country. Some, like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, are maritime by virtue of their geography and economic imperatives. Others are essentially continental in their outlook. The economic and geographic proximity of China is a fact of life for all the countries of the sub-region, but their particular relationship to China is partly determined by their status as claimants to the South China Sea, or not. In varying degree they welcome the interest and presence of the United States as a balancing factor, while remaining wary of being sucked into a great power confrontation or of having to choose between the two. They have their own local inter-state tensions too. All these diferences make it difficult for ASEAN to act effectively as a coherent body. Accordingly each country has to work out its own maritime destiny against a host of local and broader pressures.