Abstract

Gregory Poling, Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Washington, D.C.,-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, will discuss the state of U.S.-China competition for regional influence and the rapid changes to foreign policy under the second Donald Trump administration. Poling will open with a presentation of the new CSIS Global Alignment Index, which offers a unique measurement of support for U.S., Chinese, and Russian leadership over time. He will discuss the index’s key findings in Southeast Asia and the BRICS, and what effects they suggest the second Trump administration will have on the U.S.-China competition for influence.

About the Speaker

Gregory Poling directs the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is also a senior fellow. He is a leading expert on the South China Sea disputes and conducts research on U.S. alliances and partnerships, democratization and governance in Southeast Asia, and maritime security across the Indo-Pacific. He is the author of the recently published On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea, along with various works on U.S. relations with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia at large. His writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and the Naval War College Review, among others.  Mr Poling received an MA in international affairs from American University and a BA in history and philosophy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.