The announcement at the end of October about the possible accession of Taiwan to the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) project, which was launched six months earlier by the United States, Japan and the Philippines, provides an opportunity to focus on new noteworthy developments in the increasingly tense situation in Southeast Asia

The Taiwan problem is an integral element of the situation in Southeast Asia

But the same problem, rather than simply manifesting itself, is becoming an integral element in the extremely difficult situation in Southeast Asia. First of all, for geographical reasons, since the main Philippine Island of Luzon, which gives its name to the project mentioned at the beginning of this article, is relatively close to Taiwan. The last Balikatan military exercises were also held on the territory of this island, and their scenario included, among other things, a possible aggravation of the situation in Taiwan.

The US State Department’s report on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the Luzon Economic Corridor project, launched during the summit between the US, Japan and the Philippines held on April 11-12 this year in Washington could hardly be described as a display of sabre rattling. Nevertheless some “reference points” related to the LEC make a clear link between this project and the solution of purely military tasks.

That being said, the main purpose of the LEC is related to a more fundamental problem caused by the global competition between the United States and its main geopolitical opponent, namely the PRC.

The LEC project in the context of the struggle against the PRC for influence on the Global South

This project was one of the concrete results of the growing awareness of the Biden administration, which came to power in the United States in early 2021, on the true nature of the challenge posed by the emergence of China as a global power. It should be noted once again that as far back as in the late 1990s, US........

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