America and China in the Asia-Pacific: A new regional Cold War?

Summary: Under the pressure of choosing between the U.S. and China, Southeast Asian countries have adopted a hedging strategy by deepening economic relations with China while strengthening security cooperation with the U.S. However, a public opinion survey conducted in the Philippines revealed that the level of nationalism did not significantly affect individuals' views on the strategy. Surprisingly, more nationalistic Filipinos actually viewed economic relations with China as important and approved of Duterte's China policy, supporting the idea of hedging.