Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
This volume looks at the major strategic choices facing the U.S. policy community and, through a combination of country, regional, and topical studies, analyzes the impact of U.S. policy and geopolitical developments on Asia’s transformation over the past eight years.
Source: The National Bureau of Asian Research

Order this book, or read the introduction by Ashley J. Tellis for free.
About the Editors:
Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Research Director of the Strategic Asia Program at NBR, served in the U.S. Department of State as senior adviser to the Undersecretary of State of Public Affairs, and previously as senior adviser to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in India. He also served on the National Security Council Staff as special assistant to the President and senior director for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia. He is the author of India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (2001) and co-author of Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (2000), as well as the co-editor of six most recent volumes of Strategic Asia, published by NBR.
Mercy Kuo is Director of the Strategic Asia Program at The National Bureau of Asian Research.
Andrew Marble is Editor at The National Bureau of Asian Research.
Former Senior Fellow
Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mercy Kuo
Andrew Marble
NBR
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.
Elina Noor
ASEAN needs to determine how to balance perpetuating the benefits of technology cooperation with China while mitigating the risks of getting caught in the crosshairs of U.S.-China gamesmanship.
Elina Noor
In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.
Nguyễn Khắc Giang
The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.
Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat