The Strategic Adjustments of the United States and China in Southeast Asia: A Case Study of the Mekong Subregion

Abstract

The Mekong subregion has become an important strategic area in the context of increasing great power competition tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. With its crucial geo-strategic position presiding over the “heart” of the Indo-Pacific region, the Mekong subregion has become an important hotspot in the efforts of great powers, especially the United States (US) and China, to increase their global influence. Since 2013, the Mekong subregion has been heavily impacted by the US-China strategic competition, with China’s strong rise and ambition to maintain US leadership shaping a global power competition that will determine the direction of the new world order. Consequently, the US-China rivalry has been and is seriously affecting the political and security situation of the countries in the Mekong subregion, posing many challenges and opportunities for this region. Using a qualitative analysis method through a survey of secondary data, the article analyzes the position and role of the Mekong subregion in the US-China strategic rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region, while analyzing and examining the US and China’s strategic adjustments during 2009-2021. From there, it provides forecasts and solutions for the Mekong subregion in general and Vietnam in particular.