Southeast Asia between the Superpowers: Who is Where and Why
Date: Thursday, 27 March 2026
Time: 8:00–9:30PM
Venue: Penang Institute, 10 Jalan Brown, 10350 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Speaker: Dr. Khong Yuen Foong
Moderator: Dato’ Dr Ooi Kee Beng
Overview:
One of the most pressing foreign policy challenges that the eleven countries of Southeast Asia (ASEAN-11) face today and in the coming years is how to position themselves between the US and China as the geopolitical rivalry between the two superpowers intensifies. Most in Southeast Asia claim they would prefer not to have to choose between the two superpowers, but that position will become increasingly difficult to maintain as the US and China pressure states in the region to align with them.
This talk will address three key questions related to this strategic dilemma: What do the strategic alignments of the ASEAN-11 look like today? What explains their alignment choices? And what are the implications of the latter for Southeast Asia, the superpowers, and the region? A highlight of the talk will involve introducing the audience to “The Anatomy of Choice Alignment Index,” an interactive website created by Khong and his colleagues that maps the alignment postures of the Southeast Asian countries vis-à-vis China and the U.S. over the last thirty years (1995-2024).
About The Speaker:
Dr. Khong Yuen Foong is Li Ka Shing Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalization at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He previously served as Professor of International Relations and Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and had earlier taught in the Government Department at Harvard University. He received his PhD from Harvard in 1987. His book Analogies at War: Korea, Munich, Dien Bien Phu, and the Vietnam Decisions of 1965 (Princeton, 1992; sixth printing 2006) was co-winner of the American Political Science Association’s Political Psychology Book Award. Khong’s research focuses on US foreign policy, Asia-Pacific international relations, and cognitive approaches to international politics. A Distinguished Adjunct Researcher at the Penang Institute, his talk will expand on his recent article (with Joseph Liow), “Southeast Asia is Beginning to Choose: Why the region is leaning toward China” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2025) and introduce the Alignment Index they created to track how the ASEAN countries are choosing between the US and China.
About The Moderator:
Dato’ Dr Ooi Kee Beng (黄基明博士) is Executive Director of Penang Institute. With a Ph.D. in Sinology from Stockholm University, he has studied nation-building in Asia and Malaysian politics for three decades. Formerly Deputy Director at ISEAS and Ericsson Electronics staff, he is founder-editor of Penang Monthly & ISSUES, and a regular writer on regional affairs.