China is leading a new wave of regional cooperation in Southeast Asia, and China-driven mechanisms for regional cooperation look set to overwhelm all possible areas of economic and political cooperation.
For economic, security, diplomatic and military reasons, China has been developing stronger relationships with member countries of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Beijing charm offensive has become an integral part of its overall strategy to shape a new regional structure that is more conducive to strategic interests.
A new Asian regionalism stimulated by the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will dominate the future economic landscape of Asia, in which the United States may not have a substantial role to play. ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.