At a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2010, the Chinese foreign minister, angered by a question about the South China Sea dispute, declared: \u201cChina is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that is just a fact.\u201d The authors whose essays are collected in\xa0The Deer and the Dragon\xa0examine the nature, dynamics, and implications of that fact \u2013 and the inequality that has resulted between China and the countries of Southeast Asia.
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What does the history of Sino-Southeast Asian relations tell us about future possibilities? Do economic relations already suggest dependence? How do the countries of Southeast Asia view China and its intentions, and how does China see the region? What is the role of ASEAN?\xa0 How does U.S. policy affect the relative influence of China and the United States in Southeast Asia?\xa0
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The National Committee held a virtual program with\xa0Dr. Donald Emmerson\xa0featuring commentary from\xa0Dr. Ann Marie Murphy\xa0on\xa0October 22, 2020. Stanford University\u2019s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the New York Southeast Asia Network co-sponsored the event.