Military buildup seen hitting China's inroads in Asia

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China may be making huge strides in projecting "soft power" in Southeast Asia amid US preoccupation in Iraq, but the region remains wary of the Asian giant's military ambitions, experts say.

Once a US stomping ground, Southeast Asia is seeing greater Chinese involvement in diplomacy, trade, investment, cultural and educational exchanges as well as foreign aid to less developed states.

A critical component of China's "soft power" diplomacy is the emphasis on engaging the region as a whole -- unlike the United States, which has focused primarily on bilateral relations.

The United States helped set up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a bulwark against communism 40 years ago, but today China is "increasingly the most influential external actor in dealing with ASEAN," said Joshua Kurlantzick, a visiting scholar at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Also, unlike the United States, China has acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation -- a non-aggression treaty -- and forged a free trade agreement with the group comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.