Manila’s #Pivot Toward Beijing
▻https://jamestown.org/program/manilas-pivot-toward-beijing
China’s use of economic carrots continues to be effective from the Baltic to the South China Sea. With continuing economic contraction at home, and bad bets abroad, such as in Venezuela, the sustainability of economic incentives is far from certain. However, Xi’s strategy in buying China diplomatic breathing room has paid off. Though the outgoing U.S. administration made some moves to gain influence with China’s traditional supporters in ASEAN, such as Laos, it is clear that China’s large overall economic engagement in the region—and targeted diplomatic overtures—have won this round for influence in Southeast Asia.