Japan is a cuddlier friend to South-East Asia than America or China

Asian geopolitics ASEAN,ASEANISEAS-is often described in terms of two giants: America, the incumbent superpower, and China, a rising one, standing astride the region and competing to pull smaller countries to their sides, including the ten members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. But this misses a lot. It elides smaller countries’ agency and oversimplifies what is rarely a Manichaean divide. It also ignores the pivotal role of another rich power with strong ties: Japan.For many South-East Asian countries, Japan offers a vital hedge against the rival powers, as a source of capital, technology and aid. Over the past decade, Japanese foreign direct investment into countries has totalled $198bn, behind America’s $209bn, but beating China’s $106bn. Japanese firms covet South-East Asia’s growing markets, and policymakers see the region as a bulwark against Chinese expansionism. Sustained engagement, from mediating regional conflicts to building regional institutions, has helped Japan accumulate substantial influence. According to a survey of South-East Asian researchers, businesspeople and policymakers by the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, Japan is the region’s most trusted outside partner.