Critical Issues for the United States in Southeast Asia in 2025
Scot Marciel, John J. Brandon, Robert Blake, Piper Campbell, John Goyer, Frank Jannuzi, Hunter Marston, Ted Osius, Edmund Sim, Yun Sun, Courtney Weatherby, Barbara Weisel
Given the region’s strategic importance, it is imperative that the United States engage with Southeast Asia and its regional organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in a reliable and consistent manner. With a population of 693 million people, the 10 nations of Southeast Asia constitute the world’s fifth-largest economy, the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner, an emerging key link in critical global supply chains, and an important source of rare earths and other key minerals. With its size and location, between China and India and straddling some of the world’s most important sea-lanes, Southeast Asia’s importance to global security and geoeconomic interests cannot be overstated.
This Task Force report, Critical Issues for the United States in Southeast Asia in 2025, is based on an eight-month series of discussions that ranged from economic relations, climate change policy, energy, and maritime security to how to support ASEAN and promote democracy, human rights, and good governance in the region. The 12 members of the Task Force that prepared this report are scholars, analysts, and practitioners who work for think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, business associations, and the private sector.
We wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to the Chevron Corporation for generously supporting this project.