As the rivalry between the United States and China intensifies, with a growing emphasis on technology, middle powers are being increasingly caught between two superpowers. The strategy that these governments choose to adopt could have significant ramifications. Many countries are turning to various forms of hedging strategies. In line with a traditional middle power pattern, countries such as the Philippines, the UK, Singapore, and Vietnam have been forging closer defense ties with the US while maintaining and even strengthening economic cooperation with China. Japan, the UK, and Australia have recently moved closer to a bandwagoning model, aligning their economic and security policies with the US. However, most leaders reject the idea of having to choose between the US and China. As Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated, "It is not possible for us to choose one or the other, because we have very intense and extensive ties with both the US and China."

This analysis seeks to highlight some of the current trends in superpower competition and their impact on middle countries. We will ask how middle powers can manage the shrinking room for hedging strategies and maintain autonomous foreign and technology policies which are becoming ever more entangled due the growing geopolitical pressure to take sides.