Is Southeast Asia ready for a US-China tech decoupling?

Manoj Harjani 

Published 31 May 2021 

Some regional countries have sought to diversify. But this doesn’t necessarily mean choosing sides.

Recent developments suggest that both China and the United States are taking steps towards unravelling or “decoupling” their technology ecosystems. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the semiconductor industry, which manufactures the chips allowing everything from smartphones to cars to function and is now seen as the lynchpin of an increasingly digitalised global economy.

The impact of a tech decoupling would not be trivial – research published by the International Monetary Fund in March showed potential GDP losses of up to five per cent for key global economies.

For Southeast Asia, a tech decoupling would likely be an unwelcome addition to existing issues sandwiching the region between China and the United States, such as trade and territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Read the rest at https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/southeast-asia-ready-us-china-tech-decoupling