Are Southeast Asian nations being forced to choose between China and the United States on issues like infrastructure, trade, and security? That’s one of the key questions explored in this episode as host David Dollar interviews Jonathan Stromseth, the Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asian Studies and a senior fellow at Brookings. Dollar and Stromseth tackle a variety of related issues, including the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy of the Trump administration; the effect that China’s economic engagement in the region—in particularly its Belt and Road Imitative—has on governance and democracy; and specific cases like Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.