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October 1, 2006
Since the end of the Vietnam War, Southeast Asia has often been viewed as secondary
to vital US interests. However, in a post-Cold War world that is increasingly
shaped by rising powers and nonstate actors, what was previously marginal
has become pivotal. After September 11, 2001, both Islamic fundamentalists and
the United States identified Southeast Asia as a "second front." Some of Southeast
Asia's Muslims have forged closer ties with the Middle East, even as Middle
Eastern petrodollars have funded Southeast Asian mosques and schools. Southeast
Asia has also emerged as a crossroads between status quo powers -- the United
States, Japan -- and the rising powers of China and India.
At the 47th annual Strategy for Peace Conference, held in October 2006, the
Stanley Foundation convened four panels to assess the political, security, economic,
and regional aspects of the changing power dynamic in Asia, with particular
attention to Southeast Asia. The dialogue brought together policymakers, scholars,
analysts, and nongovernmental practitioners to consider the challenges -- as
well as opportunities -- for US policy in this new regional environment. This policy
brief reports on the substance of these discussions, with the caution that it does
not necessarily represent a consensus.
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