Joe Biden’s hope for reasserting American leadership in Southeast Asia will face growing challenges, not only from China but also a skeptical audience in the region.

The incoming U.S. administration’s policy positions will likely include moving quickly to restore America’s influence in the region. It will seek an edge over China at every opportunity and try to draw ASEAN closer.

The behavior of both US and Chinese officials at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue signaled the end of a period of relative peace in the Indo-Pacific region. The smaller states are increasingly concerned that the two superpowers will simply stumble into war, and urge the two to find common ground on shared challenges to maintain a peaceful relationship.

The US-China rivalry constitutes a new formidable challenge to Southeast Asia’s cohesion, so they should continue to engage all powers and reinforce consensus among themselves.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed has demonstrated himself to be a truly independent-minded leader. With an inexplicable audacity to stand up to both the West and East in order to protect the interest of smaller nations, he very well may be the last titan of Asia.

Southeast Asia is finding new ways to turn the US-China trade war into an opportunity.

The new missiles China has reportedly deployed to three islands in the Spratly chain could target nearly any ship and most aircraft in the southern half of the South China Sea. This radically changes the strategic environment. These missiles mean that China’s bases in the Spratlys are no longer theoretical military threats but real ones.

China’s diplomatic forays into Southeast Asia are periodic and predictable. Yet Premier Li Keqiang may have his work cut out for him in upcoming forays to the region. Shifts in diplomatic outlook on the part of both the U.S. and China are changing the rules as tensions arise and polarize the region.

The 32nd ASEAN Summit, held in Singapore on April 27 and 28, saw the ASEAN adopting tough language against America’s trade protectionism, while pursuing further its blossoming relations with China.

On Wednesday 17 January, the U.S. Navy conducted a much anticipated “freedom of navigation operation” (FONOP) in the South China Sea when the guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal.