The Role of Energy Security in China's Neighborhood Diplomacy toward Southeast Asia

Abstract

Energy security has increasingly become one of China’s most important strategic interests amid rapidly growing energy demand and a rising dependence on external sources of supply. This article examines the role of energy security in the formulation and implementation of China’s neighborhood diplomacy toward Southeast Asia. Drawing upon a neoclassical realist approach, combined with document analysis and process-tracing methods, the study elucidates the relationship between energy security imperatives and the adjustment of Beijing’s foreign policy toward its neighboring region. The findings indicate that Southeast Asia occupies a particularly significant position in China’s energy security strategy due to its role in international maritime routes, especially the Strait of Malacca, as well as its potential for energy cooperation and regional connectivity. Challenges related to the security of energy supply and transportation have prompted China to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN, expand energy investments, develop connectivity corridors with Myanmar, and increase its presence in strategic spaces such as the South China Sea. The study concludes that energy security constitutes one of the key drivers shaping China’s neighborhood diplomacy and helps explain Beijing’s growing influence in Southeast Asia during the first decades of the twenty-first century.