Research On The Strategic Choices Of Small Power Under Great Power Competition

With the intensification of competition between China and the United States,small countries in the Asia-Pacific region are playing an increasingly important role in the pursuit of survival and security.From the perspective of small countries,this paper studies the diplomatic strategic choices of small countries under great power competition,summarizes the main diplomatic strategic models applicable to small countries,and analyzes the factors affecting the diplomatic strategic choices of small countries.Under the background of great power competition,the diplomatic strategies that small countries can choose can be divided into three types: balanced tendency,non-equilibrium tendency,and universal tendency.The factors influencing the strategic choice of diplomacy of small countries mainly include the systemic level,that is,the influence of the international and regional political environment;Unit level,that is,the influence of national interests,national strength,national characteristics,geographical location,domestic politics and other factors;and the individual level,the impact of a leader’s personal identity and experience.Taking the Philippines as an example,this paper compares and analyzes the different diplomatic strategic choices of the two administrations Aquino III and Duterte since 2010,and analyzes the factors that have influenced their different foreign policies.During his tenure,Aquino III adopted a non-balanced strategic model,that is,following the United States and challenging China,while Duterte adopted a diplomatic strategy of alienating the United States and approaching China to achieve a balance between China and the United States.The reasons that influence the different strategic choices of the two are whether the international system and the regional system are supported by the major international political forces,whether the domestic political level is hijacked by domestic interest groups or entangled in domestic social problems,and the differences in the personality characteristics of leaders.The strategic choices of small countries will greatly affect China’s surrounding development environment,and even affect the outcome of Sino-US competition.Therefore,this paper takes the Philippine research and analysis as an example to summarize the effective enlightenment of how China handles the diplomatic relations of small countries in the context of Sino-US competition.