The Philippines also lacks a deep historical relationship with
China, though its Chinese community is better assimilated than in
Indonesia. Filipinos have looked east to America and west to Europe
more than north to China in constructing their international rel-
ations culture. The Philippines is less sure of its position in Southeast
Asia than is Indonesia, more ready to take offence and respond in a
confrontational way to threatening situations, as the Mischief Reef
incident illustrated. The Philippines–China bilateral relations
regime remains, as a result of these factors, somewhat shallow and
undeveloped.
As for Malaysia and Singapore, both historically formed part of
the Malay trading world. Port cities on the Malay peninsula and
Borneo have a long tradition of economic and political relations with
China (Melaka, Brunei), but like Indonesia, these impinge little on
the modern Sino–Malaysian bilateral relations regime. The excep-
tionally high proportion of Chinese in the population of Malaysia,
and the fact that Singapore is majority Chinese, has injected an
understandable ambiguity into their relations with China. Both claim
to enjoy close relations with the PRC, while being acutely aware of
possible adverse implications, either internally (Malaysia) or exter-
nally (Singapore).
Both prior to falling under European colonial domination and as
independent states, the island nations of Southeast Asia have devel-
oped very different bilateral relations regimes with China to those of
mainland Southeast Asian nations.^9 This has been due to a combin-
ation of geography and worldview (Muslim or Christian). The question
is, therefore, would the maritime states be more ready to oppose
Chinese regional hegemony? Would they, in the face of a more
assertive China, even join an American-led balance-of-power alliance
lying off the East Asian continent, comprising the US, Japan, Taiwan,
the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia? Here another factor enters
the equation: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Future directions