英文摘要 |
This study aims to investigate why Southeast Asian countries have differing responses to China’s infrastructure assistance. Based on the interface of domestic and international factors, the article contends that international factors are more significant to influence Southeast Asian countries’external policies. In contrast, the authors consider social resistance to China’s foreign assistance as an intervening variable, not a decisive factor to determine varying attitudes of the host countries toward China’s infrastructure assistance. In this research, the authors characterize the international factors into two sets of security and economic relations with China and other competing great powers in the region, which play a major role in shaping Southeast Asian countries’policy preferences. We further investigate the extent of reliance on China’s foreign assistance by the studied cases. Through the cases of Cambodia and Indonesia, the authors find Cambodia is positioned in low stability of security while China is not its main threat, and over-reliant on China’s aid. As a result, it tends to bandwagon with China and is more supportive of China’s aid programs. However, Indonesia enjoys high stability of security and is, hence, not over-relying on China’s aid. It prefers hedging against China and is less supportive of China’s proposals with stronger reservation. |