At present, we are witnessing a change in the polarity of the system of international relations: globally, the "center of gravity" is gradually shifting from West to East. The modern" growth engine " of the global economy is increasingly referred to as the Asia-Pacific region (APR), which already accounts for up to 55% of GDP and 45% of world trade. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations can play the most active system-forming and integration role in this macro-region. ASEAN in the 21st Century includes not only the ten Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), but also related partner formats such as ASEAN-plus, the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF), and the East Asia Summits (EAC). Against this background, the US President B. Obama has clearly identified a new long-term regional priority of American foreign policy - the Asia-Pacific region1. Obviously, page 102 In this context, the democratic administration will pay considerable attention to South-East Asia. During the 1940s and 2000s, US relations with Southeast Asian countries were undulating: an active, interested, and" aggressive " presence until the early 1970s; passive," aggrieved " surveillance from the outside in the 1970s and 1990s; and virtually ignoring the region at the turn of the century. With the Democrats coming to power in the White House in 2008, we can definitely talk about a "reversal" of Washington's foreign policy. Southeast Asia is not an amendment to the old list of US priorities in the foreign arena, but one of the main components of Washington's new vision. If the administrations of 2001-2008 put the Islamic vector at the forefront of their foreign policy, then one of the first decisions of Obama was plans to wind down military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible. Americans need resources to engage more actively and directly in other areas, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. S ... Read more