The US might have realized it is not easy to turn ASEAN into a pawn, so Washington may push the region harder. According to Ge, Sherman’s trip may be just a beginning. The US secretary of state may participate in the future ASEAN Regional Forum, the US defense minister may attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, and the US president may also likely join the ASEAN Summit. By then, the US will likely put more pressure on the region to serve the framework of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. But will such US offensive push Southeast Asian countries to behave in line with US expectation? T...