Regional Responses to China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has sat atop China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI). By and large, most Southeast Asian countries hailed China’s MSRI, but their responses to it have some variances. The article aims to analyze why they have differing responses. It contends that the primary determinant is changing domestic politics, specifically, ruling elites’ policy priority, degree of trust of China, leaders’ ideology and preference, and social response. While rejecting the impact of trade imbalance and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from China, the influence of the South China Sea dispute and America’s Asia policy have been partially verified.