ASEAN Caught Between Washington and Beijing: How Long Can It Keep Hedging?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is navigating one of its most challenging strategic environments in decades as tensions in the South China Sea, instability in the Middle East and intensifying US-China competition converge at this year's Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila. Marking the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration, member states continue to call for peaceful dispute resolution even as negotiations over a long-promised Code of Conduct remain unfinished. At the same time, ASEAN faces growing pressure to balance its deep economic ties with China against expanding security cooperation with the United States and its partners. Can the bloc preserve its long-standing strategy of "ASEAN centrality" and strategic hedging as geopolitical rivalry intensifies? In this episode, we examine the future of the South China Sea, ASEAN's evolving role in the Indo-Pacific and what the latest US-China diplomacy reveals about the region's strategic trajectory. *Recorded on July 23, 2026 at 3pm Taiwan Standard Time Host: Wen-Ti Sung Producer: Chinyeh Chiang Videographer: Ko Gi Our guests: Chiew-Ping Hoo - East Asian International Relations (EAIR) Caucus Co-Founder Ivy Kwek - Aurora Insights Founder and CEO
