ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank all those who contributed directly or indirectly to this study. Within RAND, we thank Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad,
Corporate Chair in International Security and Director of Strategy
and Doctrine, Project AIR FORCE. Dr. Khalilzad supervised a series
of studies on Asian security issues that provided the intellectual
framework for this project, and participated in discussions with government officials and defense experts in Southeast Asia that became
an important part of our data base. We also thank our research assistant, Andrew Mok, who contributed to the chapter on U.S. interests;
Shirley Lithgow, who patiently prepared several early versions of this
report; and Joanna Alberdeston for her work on administrative details and coordination of the manuscript. In addition, the authors
appreciate the invaluable contribution of our editor, Jeanne Heller,
and our production editor, Alisha Pitts, in turning the manuscript
into a finished product.
We are particularly grateful to our distinguished outside reviewers:
Dr. Karl Jackson, Director of the Southeast Asia Studies Program at
the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns
Hopkins University; and Dr. James Clad, Research Professor of
Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown
University. The study benefited immensely from the perceptive
comments and insights provided by Dr. Jackson and Dr. Clad. Any
shortcomings are, of course, entirely our responsibility. Our thanks
extend to government officials and academics in Southeast Asia for
their discussions with the authors during visits to Southeast Asia. We
thank in particular the staff of the National Defense College of the
Philippines, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of
Singapore, the National Defense College of Thailand, and the
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The Role of Southeast Asia in U.S. Strategy Toward China
National Resilience Institute (LEMHANNAS) and the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia.