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tajeip's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty good (although sadly outdated wrt Burma)
I give the audiobook narrator 2/5 stars. An inability to pronounce “Malay”, “Kausikan” (as in Bilahari) or “Guangxi” (among many, many others) is quite damning for a book about SEA and China, and just reflects a lack of effort. It’s not hard to foresee this as necessary.
I give the audiobook narrator 2/5 stars. An inability to pronounce “Malay”, “Kausikan” (as in Bilahari) or “Guangxi” (among many, many others) is quite damning for a book about SEA and China, and just reflects a lack of effort. It’s not hard to foresee this as necessary.
jasonrcf's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pretty good overview of the developments in Southeast Asia’s increasingly dependent relationship with China over the past few years. I thought that most of its chapters were well done, though I have some reservations about the concluding final chapter that attempts to tie it all together and give recommendations for US policy in the region. The inclusion of COVID-19 at the very end also felt unnecessary, especially since there’s nothing interesting said about it:
“But when the pandemic finally petered out, Southeast Asia’s relationship with China was unlikely to have been altered in any fundamental way” does not age well. A whole new book of equal length could one day be written about how the pandemic shaped relations in the region, so the dismissal of it here seems inappropriate.
Nevertheless, the main sections of the book were quite enlightening and I learned a lot. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about how China is currently exerting its geopolitical power in Southeast Asia, particularly in preparation for its ambitious Belt Road Initiative.
“But when the pandemic finally petered out, Southeast Asia’s relationship with China was unlikely to have been altered in any fundamental way” does not age well. A whole new book of equal length could one day be written about how the pandemic shaped relations in the region, so the dismissal of it here seems inappropriate.
Nevertheless, the main sections of the book were quite enlightening and I learned a lot. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about how China is currently exerting its geopolitical power in Southeast Asia, particularly in preparation for its ambitious Belt Road Initiative.
robowarrior12's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
A solid overview of the current state of affairs across south east asia. A really good intro step into the conflict in that part of the world
peanutman's review against another edition
5.0
This is a must read for anyone interested in the topic.
kieranyes's review against another edition
4.0
This great first read of the year is on one of the defining stories of the 21st century. This book covers the complex relationships between ten countries in Southeast Asia and booming modern China. This is a huge topic, but Strangio is a stylish writer and brings together cultural history, interviews from his work as a journalist and geopolitical analysis for each of the unique nations. Although there is plenty of well selected detail, this could really only ever be an introduction. Whole books could be written about China's investment in every one of these countries. The chapters on the Philippines and Myanmar in particular are really enlightening, but the one on Indonesia could have been several times the length.
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