The Lowy Institute has published a comprehensive piece of research and analysis on South-East Asian defence partnerships.
The full article is here.
Key Findings
- China, the United States, and middle powers such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea have increased defence engagement with Southeast Asian countries, as evidenced by a rise in defence agreements, dialogue mechanisms, and combined military exercises since 2017.
- Southeast Asian countries’ defence engagements with the United States and China have different objectives. Partnerships with the United States focus on developing capability and interoperability, whereas engagements with China primarily serve diplomatic and confidence-building purposes.
- While the United States remains the primary non-Southeast Asian defence and security partner in the region, China has established a more prominent presence in mainland Southeast Asia through sustained defence diplomacy and has made some gains in deepening defence ties with Indonesia and Malaysia.
- New defence cooperation initiatives from the United States and its allies focus largely on the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. This trend risks leaving mainland Southeast Asia more reliant on cooperation with China and Russia, increasing the geopolitical divide within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Executive summary
Southeast Asian countries have diversified their defence partnerships amid intensifying strategic competition and regional security challenges. While the United States and China remain key security actors, countries in the region are engaging with a broader array of external partners to enhance their autonomy and military capabilities. Australia, Japan, India, and South Korea are all important defence partners for the region, offering capacity-building, training, and technology cooperation. These partnerships reflect Southeast Asia’s search for resilience through engagement with multiple partners while avoiding over-dependence on any single actor.
