The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must tread carefully because growing nationalism is fueling maritime disputes between members at a time when the US and China are both re-asserting their strength in the region, speakers warned at an academic international relations forum in Bangkok on Tuesday.
Prapat Thepchatree, associate professor of international relations at Thammasat University, said Asean's approach towards the major powers - US and China - could be seen as bandwagoning and balancing.
Whenever either of them required a show of support, Asean would go along with it, he said in an address to the 4th TU-Asean Forum
But in recent years the situation required the regional grouping to take a more balancing role for the sake of peace and stability of the simmering region, said Mr Prapat, who is director of the Thammasat University's Asean Studies Centre.
The United States of America's re-assertation of its power in the region was complicating the situation and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement had become a dangerous issue for Asean.
"As China is growing and asserting its historical hegemony and the US is not being less aggressive, the TPP will divide Asean as four countries have already joined and Thailand is eager, but the other five are not yet joining it," said Mr Prapat.
Former foreign minister Kasit Piromya said Cambodia was siding with Beijing because Phnom Penh needed Chinese funding.
Asean needed to weigh up the issues and then stand firm as far as both China and the US were concerned, he said. But in reality, Asean faced difficulties in expressing a collective position as the various members had different national interest priorities, he said.
The former Democrat foreign minister said he hoped that a powerful China, especially under the new leadership, would be nicer and more friendly, as they had been when they first emerged as a major power.
Chulacheep Chinwanno, associate professor on international relations at Thammasat University, believed the increasing cooperation between the US and China in not only economic but military areas would eventually restrain the confrontation.
But Mr Chulacheep was concerned that putting rising nationalism and national interest before regional priorities would complicate bilateral relationships between Asean and the two countries.
He foresaw the two sides each trying to make friends and enhance close relations with old partners such as Asean.