Research On Mekong-U.S. Partnership From The Perspective Of Competitive Regionalism

Competitive regionalism has become the core concept for countries inside and outside the region to participate in regional cooperation and has also influenced the participation of the United States in the Mekong River region.In order to balance the influence of major powers and promote their own development,Mekong countries have established a number of competitive regional cooperation mechanisms with major powers outside the region,which has become a key factor affecting the security and stability of the region.The mechanism of competitive regional cooperation has not only become a magic weapon for countries in the region to move among great powers,but also an important tool for regional competition among great powers.During the Cold War,the United States regarded the Mekong region as an "anti-communist frontier" and invested a lot of strategic resources.However,with the end of the Cold War and changes in strategic priorities,American interest in the Mekong region waned.Until recent years,when the rise of China once again highlighted the Mekong region’s strategic position.In order to contain the rise of China,the United States returned to the Mekong River region with LMI and continuously strengthened its competition with China.Competitive regionalism began to become the main idea of the United States in participating in the Mekong River regional cooperation.And in 2020,the United States upgraded the Lower Mekong Initiative into the Mekong-U.S.Partnership,which marks a new escalation in U.S.ties with Mekong countries,Competitive regionalism has become the main idea of the United States participating in the Mekong River regional cooperation.MUSP is a platform for exchanges and cooperation between the United States and Mekong countries,but it is also built as a tool for the United States to seek its own interests.In particular,the United States has enhanced its cooperation with Mekong countries in the areas of economic connectivity,water security,non-traditional security and human resource development through the MUSP Action Plan.MUSP not only overlaps with competitive regional cooperation mechanisms established by other extraterritorial powers in terms of cooperation members,but also has a high degree of similarity in terms of cooperation areas,methods and objectives.This inevitably leads to competition among leading countries participating in the Mekong River regional cooperation,especially in the context of competition between China and the United States,which sets the ultimate goal of MUSP to gain an advantage in regional competition with China.Therefore,the establishment and development of MUSP further intensified the strategic competition between China and America.Competitive regional cooperation mechanism has become an important tool for great powers to carry out regional competition,and competitive regionalism has also become the main idea that other great powers uphold when participating in Mekong River regional cooperation.The United States pursues the concept of competitive regionalism,so MUSP presents different characteristics from other cooperation mechanisms.As MUSP sees China as its strategic competitor,the primary feature of MUSP is increasing competition with China.In addition,in order to gain an edge in regional competition with China and compensate for its disadvantage in the Mekong region,the emphasis on cooperation and coordination with Allies or partners becomes the second characteristic of MUSP.In order to avoid the aversion of Mekong countries caused by excessive participation of government bodies,MUSP can hardly advance.The third feature of MUSP is to support non-governmental bodies and carry out strategic penetration through cooperation in the field of "low politics".Although competitive regionalism can safeguard the independence and security of small and medium-sized countries,it is also prone to confrontation and conflict between major powers.Due to the historical background of the establishment of MUSP and the particularity driven by practical interests,it presents a unique form of competition and cooperation.Especially in the context of intensifying global competition among great powers,the development of MUSP also faces many challenges from the sustainability of the strategic investment of the United States,the increasing influence of China in the Mekong River region,the change of interest preference of Mekong countries,and the strategic differences between Allies and partner countries.In order to avoid the negative impact of the United States’ competitive regionalism on China,China needs to be fully aware of the challenges of MUSP development and use Lancang-Mekong cooperation to promote common interests with Mekong countries as well as communication and coordination with other major powers.On the basis of inheriting relevant excellent achievements,this paper uses competitive regionalism theory to explore the development of MUSP in an all-round way.This paper consists of three parts: the first part is the introduction,which mainly covers the background of the topic,related concepts,research status at home and abroad,research framework and content,as well as research innovations and deficiencies.The second part is the main text,consisting of five chapters.The first chapter reviews the four stages of the United States’ participation in the Mekong River regional cooperation,and discusses the reasons for the United States to promote the establishment of MUSP under the complex background of history and reality.The second chapter discusses the main content of MUSP Action plan,a guiding program of MUSP cooperation.The third chapter analyzes the outstanding characteristics of MUSP from three perspectives: strategic objectives,cooperative ways and cooperative fields.Chapter four illustrates the challenges of MUSP development under competitive regionalism from the perspectives of the United States,China,Mekong countries,and American Allies and partners.Chapter five explores the influence of MUSP development and China’s countermeasures.The third part is the conclusion,which is the reflection and exploration of the causes and consequences of competitive regionalism.It is hoped that the research in this paper can reveal the essence and influence of MUSP to some extent,and provide reference for China to cope with the challenges and impacts brought by MUSP.