Asia Should Welcome a U.S.-China Cold War

It is often argued that weaker Asian nations like those of ASEAN would be the most negatively impacted by a U.S.-China Cold War, as Washington and Beijing would force them to take sides. As evidence of this, proponents point to the U.S.-Soviet Cold War when the superpowers supposedly divided the world up into opposing spheres of influence.

But this is a misinterpretation of the Cold War, and its further misapplication to the contemporary Asia-Pacific. In fact, smaller Asian countries would be the primary benefactors of a more acute U.S.-China strategic rivalry.