Mainland Southeast Asia Integration Project

This project will consider the security implications of the integration of mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. Transport infrastructure, special economic zones and regional organisations between China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are proliferating rapidly. This project will build a comprehensive picture of integration by collating diverse data sets, and through interviews and surveys with various actors. It will consider how integration should be conceptualised, and if concepts such as "spheres of influence" or "hegemony" are useful. Security effects, such as the dissolving of historical animosities, differential socio-economic impacts and effects on broader regional cohesion (ASEAN) will be considered.