street food, and even traditional architecture like this.

街邊小吃，還有像這樣的傳統建築

But here's the economic reality – this holiday destination has emerged as a leader

不過有個經濟上的事實－這片度假勝地已經搖身一變成了

in global growth and is being courted by all the major powers,

全球經濟成長的龍頭，紛紛被各國示好

especially the United States and China.

尤其是美國與中國

So how did a group of emerging economies draw the attention of the superpowers?

所以到底是什麼新興的經濟體會吸引強國們的注意呢？

That's where ASEAN comes in.

就是東協

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, more commonly known as ASEAN,

東南亞國家協會，簡稱東協

marked its 50th anniversary last year.

去年，是東協成立的第 50 週年

ASEAN was born out of the superpower rivalry between the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union.

東協是美國與蘇聯兩個強國下的產物

It was founded during the height of the Vietnam War by five countries –

在越戰高峰期間由五個國家組成－

Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

泰國、印尼、菲律賓、新加坡和馬來西亞

Its purpose was to promote stability and

東協成立的目的是為了穩定

contain the influence of communism during the Cold War.

冷戰期間共產黨所帶來的影響

After the Cold War ended, five other countries –

冷戰結束後，另外五個國家－

Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar joined,

汶萊、越南、寮國、柬埔寨和緬甸陸續加入

rounding off the ten members of ASEAN today.

這 10 個成員即是我們今日所見的東協十國

The alliance seems to make sense because all the countries are in the Southeast Asian region.

這些國家的結盟並不意外，因為他們都為處於東南亞地區

But it's crucial to think of ASEAN as being more like this Indonesian gamelan orchestra –

但很關鍵的是，要把東協想成這個印尼甘美朗樂隊一樣

everyone plays a different instrument.

大家都各司其職

For instance, Indonesia represents nearly 40% of the region's economic output,

舉例來說，印尼佔了東協 40% 的經濟輸出

while the GDP per capita of Singapore, the highest in the ten,

而新加坡的 GDP 則為十國之最

is 24 times higher than that of the lowest, Cambodia.

是 GDP 最低的柬埔寨的 24 倍

But as a group, ASEAN is a powerhouse.

但整體來說，東協是個有潛力也有實力的聯盟

It's the sixth largest economy in the world, on par with the United Kingdom,

它是世界第六大經濟體，與英國並列

and ahead of France and India.

甚至超前法國和印度

It's poised to be the world's growth engine as ASEAN countries,

東協的成長就像世界的發電機

like Vietnam and the Philippines, boast phenomenal growth rates.

像是越南和菲律賓都有著很驚人的成長率

Last year, ASEAN's growth reached a five-year high of 5.2%.

去年，東協的成長達到近五年來最高，有 5.2% 的成長

The group's fast growth has drawn interest from businesses.

東協的快速成長引起許多企業的興趣

The EU is ASEAN's biggest investor, while China is its biggest trading partner.

歐盟就是東協最大的投資者，而中國則是最大的貿易夥伴

While foreign direct investment to ASEAN fell in 2016,

在 2016 年，外資開始投入東協

overall investment from the EU rose by 46% to $30.5 billion,

歐盟的整體投資提升了 46%，來到了 305 億美元

while Chinese investment rose by 44% to $9.2 billion.

而中國投資提升了 44% 到 92億美元

Those ties look set to grow.

這些數據都有持續攀升的現象

ASEAN has the world's third largest labor force of more than 600 million people,

東協有著全世界第三大的勞動人口，超過六億人

behind China and India, but ahead of the EU and U.S.

緊接在中國與印度垢面，但遠超過歐盟和美國

More than half of ASEAN's population is below 30 years old

一半以上的東協人口為 30 歲以下

and they love going online with their mobile phones.

他們喜歡用手機上網

Southeast Asians spend more time than on the mobile internet than anyone else on the planet.

東南亞地區的人花在手機上的時間是全球之最

That's why tech giants like Google, Facebook and Alibaba are scrambling for a share of

這就是為什麼像是 Google、Facebook 和阿里巴巴這些科技巨頭都擠破頭想加入

ASEAN's digital economy, forecasted to grow to $200 billion by 2025.

而東協的數位經濟，在 2025 年預計會突破兩百億美元

But ASEAN is about more than just business.

但東協不只是個經濟體

The group was founded amidst a superpower rivalry,

它在強國的對抗中成立

and it still finds itself in the middle of one today.

而現在仍然在處在各個強國之間

China claims almost all of the South China Sea,

中國宣稱整個南海的主權

while four ASEAN nations have competing claims.

而其中有四個東協國家也在為了主權而競爭

While the U.S. says it doesn't take sides in territorial disputes, it has sent ships

而美國則不願在領土之爭中選邊站，美國派遣了軍艦、

and planes near contested islands, calling them freedom of navigation operations.

飛機到鄰近的爭議小島上，宣稱這是自由導向的軍事行動

This year, it sent one of its nuclear-powered super aircraft carriers into Vietnamese waters

今年，美國在越戰後首次派遣擁有核武的超級軍機

for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War.

來到越南

China followed with the largest naval display of its kind.

中國也跟進，派出他們最大型的海軍艦隊

ASEAN countries risk becoming pawns for the superpowers in this dispute,

東協各國都很怕變成這場紛爭底下的囊中物

and the South China Sea issue has been particularly divisive.

而南海的議題也格外的有爭議

In 2012, the ten states failed to issue a joint statement for the first time in its history

2012 年，東協十國第一次在發布聯合聲明時意見分歧

because the nations couldn't agree on how to deal with China's claims.

因為各國無法決議如何處理與中國的領土爭議

But the calculations of ASEAN states are ever-evolving.

但人算不如天算

Just over a year ago, the Philippines fought China in an international legal case.

就在去年，菲律賓還與中國打了一個國際官司

But new Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has pursued stronger ties with China,

但新任菲國總統 Rodrigo Duterte，卻想要與中國有更緊密的關係

straining those with its longstanding ally, the U.S.

這使菲律賓與美國長期良好的關係緊繃起來

China's growing clout is unnerving some ASEAN countries.

中國的壯大的確對某些東協國家造成不安

Indonesia, which doesn't even have a claim in the South China Sea,

與南海主權之爭無關的印尼

is now lobbying ASEAN to patrol its waters.

正在遊說東協各國管制他們的水源

Some ASEAN countries have allied themselves with one of the superpowers,

某些東協國家已經與強國結盟

but others, like Singapore, have substantive ties with both.

但有些國家卻不一樣，像新加坡，即採取較中立的姿態

We hope not to have to pick sides.

我們希望不用選邊站

The U.S. and China have long been dominant in this region,

美國和中國以在這個區域強勢已久

but many other countries are looking to deepen their relations with ASEAN.

半還是有許多其他的國家希望與東協有更強的連結

Earlier this year, India invited ASEAN leaders

今年年初，印度首次邀請東協各國的領袖們

to its annual Republic Day celebrations for the first time.

參加印度共和日的慶祝

Last month, Australia and ASEAN held an unprecedented joint summit.

上個月，澳洲與東協共同舉辦了空前的高峰會

This year, Singapore is the ASEAN chairman and hosts the ASEAN Summit in April.

今年，新加坡是東協的主席國家，即將要承辦今年四月的東協高峰會

And it has a challenging year ahead, as ASEAN and China begin talks around adopting

而且接下來會是個充滿挑戰的一年，因為東協開始與中國討論

a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

一連串關於南海主權的相關政策與措施

As tensions escalate, ASEAN will be looking to safeguard its economic growth

隨著情勢越來越緊張，東協勢必會找到能保護經濟成長的方法

and carefully navigate, as it's always done, between two major powers.

一但找到了，他們會與一如往常小心地執行，尤其是他們夾在兩個強國之間

Hi everyone, it's Xin En. Thanks for watching.

嗨大家好，我是 Xin En。謝謝你們的收看！

If you want to check out more CNBC videos, click here.

如果你想要看更多 CNBC 的影片，請按這裡

As always, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

一樣，請留下你的建議讓我們知道

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別忘了訂閱我們！我們下次見！