In East Asia a new kind of big country-small country relationship is taking shape. There are two big countries involved in this situation: a rising China and the long-established power that is the United States. These two big countries need to find a way of accommodating each other’s aspirations and managing current tensions or there could be a disruption of the existing relative peace in the region. 

Protesters staged one of Vietnam's largest ever anti-China demonstrations on Sunday, decrying Beijing's deployment of a deep-water drilling rig in contested waters as territorial tensions soar.  Some 1,000 people, from war veterans to students, waved banners saying "China don't steal our oil" and "Silence is cowardly" – a dig at Hanoi's handling of the dispute –and sang patriotic songs in a park opposite the Chinese embassy.

Japan and Myanmar on Sunday signed an investment treaty to nurture closer business ties as the once secluded Southeast Asian country opens its fast-growing economy to more foreign commerce. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Myanmar President Thein Sein signed the deal in summit talks following a gathering of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Tokyo.

Myanmar's president called Thursday for more investment and development assistance from the Philippines, saying his country needs help to catch up with the rest of Southeast Asia after emerging from nearly two decades of economic sanctions. President Thein Sein's visit represents a milestone in relations with the Philippines, one of the harshest critics of Myanmar's former ruling junta.

In the wake of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, international aid is flowing to the Philippines. The United Nations released $25 million from an emergency fund and the United States pledged $20 million in immediate relief. But, for the moment at least, precious little assistance is coming from the region's behemoth. The Chinese authorities announced a paltry $100,000 in humanitarian aid (along with another $100,000 via the Red Cross Society of China).

An expert panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed bolstering support for Japanese-language education in ASEAN countries by increasing the number of teachers, as more people in the region are learning Japanese. The proposal, submitted to Abe on Monday, calls for boosting the dispatch of Japanese-language teachers by utilizing university and graduate students, as well as seniors, to work for up to one year in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says China and Southeast Asian nations should resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea without threats or force. U.S. is making an effort to work more closely with Indonesia to help mediate those rival maritime claims.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has enjoyed considerable diplomatic attention in recent months. This is due in a large part to a courtship involving three major powers: Japan, China and the United States. Japanese Prime Minsiter Shinzo Abe has visited ASEAN three times since returning to power late last year, his latest trip a whirlwind tour that took in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. In all, he has to date visited seven counties in ASEAN.