Southeast Asia welcomes US-China thaw after Xi-Trump summit, but caution remains

Countries in the region could feel less pressure as the thaw in US-China ties continues but deeper disputes remain unresolved, analysts say

Southeast Asia is welcoming the thaw in US-China ties continuing after the Xi-Trump summit, with analysts saying the region could feel less pressure alongside fewer open frictions between the two over the South China Sea.

Yet, caution persists as the summit left deeper disputes unresolved.

“Stable great-power relations – competitive but with sturdy guardrails – will create more legroom for third countries to navigate an increasingly complex world,” according to Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, a research fellow at the Manila-based Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.

Such stability, he said, could ease pressure on countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to pick a side, slow supply-chain disintegration and reduce the intensity of great-power competition in long-standing flashpoints like the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.