In part two of this deep-dive with American PhD student, Hunter Marston, Hunter highlights the interesting case of Singapore in US-China strategic tensions, as Singapore is both a strategic partner of the U.S. and has a majority ethnic Chinese population. He explains how Singapore is attempting to balance its ties with the U.S. and China as well as the potential for Southeast Asian nations generally to leverage major power competition towards their own interests.

Hunter goes on to explain Vietnam’s place as a frontline state in efforts to resist China’s expansion in the South China Sea or ‘East Sea’. He also reflects on differences between the U.S. and Australia in how they approach Southeast Asian policy. To conclude, Hunter imparts his career advice for aspiring Southeast Asian analysts.

This episode was first published on 27 August 2021.