Ambassadors have been named to most of the Asean countries — unlike in the Trump years when many ambassadorships in Asean went unfilled. The key American departments overseeing relations with Southeast Asia, such as defence, state and the National Security Council, are now manned by regional experts. It would not surprise us to see a revised Belt & Road Initiative, which would shower Southeast Asia with more money and higher priority. The competition between the two big powers will therefore deliver better benefits to the region. But the net effect eventually will be reduced Chinese demand for components that Southeast Asian countries currently export to China.
