The power of partnerships: US defence ties with Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam

Abstract

Relations between the USA and three non-allied Southeast Asian states—Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam—provide a good illustration of the evolution of East Asia’s security order from a “hub-and-spokes” framework to a networked security architecture. In the last two decades, the USA has negotiated a series of new security ties that vary from a “quasi-alliance” with Singapore, to warming pragmatic links with Vietnam, to a cautious partnership with Indonesia. Drawing on the insights of the English School, this article argues these partnerships can be seen in part as a response to China’s selective contestation of some of the “deep rules” of regional society, in particular its challenge to shared understandings about sovereignty and regional diplomacy. However, while there has been movement towards a genuinely networked security architecture, it has its limits. Domestic politics, economic structures and lingering doubts about Washington’s staying power work to constrain the partnerships, leading to a significant element of hedging, even as these states seek to retain US engagement in Asia.