< p>With Europe and the Middle East likely to be grabbing the headlines for the foreseeable future, in terms of security, I thought it  was worth focusing on what should be in our peripheral vision. An in-depth look at goings on in South East Asia then, as the tremors of the global slowdown continue to reverberate.

Unsurprisingly, the region is riding out economic shocks of the domestic and external variety from plummeting commodity prices, shrinking trade with China and currency depreciations. However, the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are currently the world's third-largest consumer market with 620 million people and an impressive annual growth rate of nearly 6%.

And in areas where China traditionally had dominance, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are now competing well. According to official figures, manufacturing wages in China continue to outpace levels in ASEAN, and average wages in China are now more than one-third higher. As a result, major shifts in business investment are taking place: the manufacturer for Apple, Sony and Nokia is investing £750m in new manufacturing plants in Indonesia, and Samsung Electronics is expanding its operations in Indonesia and will invest £800m in a new smartphone manufacturing base in Vietnam.

At the same time, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the US and the Philippines is paving the way for a greater presence of American troops in the region. According to a White House fact sheet, the agreement will facilitate the enhanced presence of US forces in the country in return for the long term modernisation of the armed forces of the Philippines. The US certainly seems drawn to the region and the absence of any of its naval vessels in the Mediterranean - for the first time in a decade or more - shows where its priorities now lie.

My guess is that the US is keen to pull the South East Asian economies out of China’s sphere of influence. The latest US Trans-Pacific Partnership describes itself as “a comprehensive regional agreement that promotes economic integration to liberalise trade and investment”. It effectively cuts over 18,000 taxes various different countries impose on products that are made in America.
China is fighting back, and in response, has proposed a “close-knit China-ASEAN community” that involves the construction of a 21st century Silk Road and the establishment of an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to finance projects that promote regional interconnectivity and economic integration.

Alongside this, the US is flexing its muscles over China’s attempts to lay claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea. The islands are being expanded and, indeed, created by reclamation work begun by the Chinese that has exposed reefs. But several states in South East Asia currently claim sovereignty over some of the islands and last month, the US made its position clear by sending a gun boat through the area. Oil extraction rights are likely to be behind China’s attempts to extend its territorial waters and tensions are running high.

In the meantime, Japan has fallen back into recession for the fourth time since the onset of the financial crisis, despite massive levels of quantitative easing. On an annual basis, its economy shrank by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2015, domestic demand having weakened.

So, while Europe and the Middle East have their problems, I would liken events in South East Asia to competing engine manufacturers, one of which is long established and the other relatively new. The new engine company has snuffled up suppliers and added dynamism to its business, but the old one, in the form of the US, is not prepared to sit things out.

Knowing a trick or two, it is out coveting suppliers and markets while the global industry can do no better than tick over.

There is certainly a spat going on over economic dominance, and we can only hope that it doesn’t end with blows being traded.