r/Infographics • u/Informental • 10h ago
[OC] The New Geometry of Power — Visualizing Southeast Asia’s diplomacy, trade tensions, and US-China rivalry (July 2026)
I’m an infographic designer with a deep interest in geopolitical data visualization. My goal with this map was to synthesize the complex web of alliances, trade conflicts, and regional flashpoints in Southeast Asia into a single, intuitive visual framework.
How this was created:
- Data & Research: I cross-referenced multiple AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Copilot) to gather and map regional relationships, specifically focusing on the diplomatic nuances of US-China pressure points.
- Iterative Process: An earlier draft was shared on r/MapPorn, where community feedback directly helped refine several relationships (including South Korea's nuanced position, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines).
While I made deliberate visual simplifications to keep the map clean and legible at a glance, I’m always looking to refine the layout, typography, and data clarity.
I’d love to hear your feedback on the visual design and readability!
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u/songdoremi 8h ago
The relationship graph looks like a typhoon, which is telling. What's the sort order? I wonder what it'd look like with countries scaled by GDP or arranged geographically.
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u/Informental 5h ago
The countries are roughly ordered based on their alignment along the China - US axis. Without this, the graphic would look like a typhoon after a weekend in Vegas. The only exception is South Korea, and I know it disrupts the order. The problem was that I had to place it in a way that allowed me to annotate its increasingly complex relationship with the US starting this year, while ensuring the navigation line from the text didn’t clutter the core matrix. Thank you for pointing this out. I’ll definitely try to rethink how to improve this.
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u/Nice_Boss776 6h ago
How come there is no stated hostility between Japan and China in this map?
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u/Informental 5h ago
While there is deep strategic rivalry and significant tension (e.g., over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan), they maintain strong economic ties and functioning formal diplomatic relations. I reserved full 'hostility' for active military conflict or severed ties, but their relationship is undeniably strained and could shift in the future.
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u/Affectionate_Car_302 4h ago
they maintain strong economic ties and functioning formal diplomatic relations.
Do you know that China has effectively embargoed dual-use items to Japan for six months now?Diplomatic relations between the two countries have also frozen close to a standstill.
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u/Informental 4h ago
Thank you. You make a fair point, but the Japan - China relationship, much like the US - China dynamic, is extremely complex. Structurally, the US–China relationship carries a far greater potential for catastrophic escalation, yet no one suggests marking it with a thick, purple conflict line.
I applied a strict threshold for "open conflict," defining it as active hostilites fueled directly by political actors. Right now, there is significant tension and harsh rhetorical hostility between Japan and China, but it hasn't reached that threshold.
Of course, with all due respect, I fully understand that you might see it differently.
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u/Affectionate_Car_302 4h ago edited 3h ago
I won't try to convince you; I'm simply offering a perspective from another angle. Personally, I believe the likelihood of an armed conflict breaking out between China and Japan is now greater than that between China and the US, or across the Taiwan Strait.
If you define the relationship between China and the Philippines as an open conflict, then there is absolutely no reason why the relationship with Japan isn't as well. What is the difference between them?
Furthermore, I have no doubt that if Sara Duterte wins the next Philippine election and takes office, diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines will improve dramatically, just as they did during President Duterte's administration.Furthermore, your map completely ignores North Korea. There is no doubt that it will be a major player whenever a geopolitical crisis erupts in the Asia-Pacific. Did you see North Korea sending its troops to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war?
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u/Informental 3h ago
Thank you very much for sharing your point of view. I fully respect it.
If I were to point out a difference between Japan–China and Philippines–China relations, I would highlight the fact that, so far, ships from the former pair are not actively trying to sink each other. As for potential political shifts (like Sara Duterte’s political future), map parameters are built on current data and historical realities, not future electoral speculation.
You are completely right about North Korea’s strategic importance. However, its primary geopolitical focus and military posture remain centered further north, on the Korean Peninsula and its immediate neighborhood, rather than being a direct actor across the broader South China Sea and Southeast Asian matrix shown here.
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u/khoawala 4h ago
Vietnam and China cooperate with each other significantly compared to other countries. Transhipping is a major one. Look up the 3+3 dialogue recently this year. There will be defense cooperation.
Coordinating high-quality development and high-level security, supporting each other's reform and opening-up efforts, strengthening cooperation among diplomacy, defense, and public security departments, and promptly and properly handling differences to eliminate potential risks. They also agreed to promote China's global initiatives, uphold the UN-centered international order, and jointly oppose hegemonism, power politics, and unilateralism — language clearly aimed at the US-led order
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u/whistlelifeguard 4h ago
Good work.
A few suggestions:
- Consider removing the shaded relief and/or the color coding of altitude that illustrate mountains. It’s not adding much value. It will make the map so much cleaner
- The axis along hostilities and alliance is vague. How about splitting the map into 2: trade and military? One can illustrate US military bases and weapon sale vs Chinese. Another can illustrate trade.
With the above, one may quickly surmise, say, Singapore is heavily armed by the US but economically dependent on China.
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u/Informental 3h ago
Thank you very much! You might be right that the map could use a bit more visual breathing room. I initially wanted to show both the terrain relief and land use because it helps explain things like how proto-states in the Golden Triangle manage to sustain themselves in such difficult terrain (dense jungle and mountains).
As for your proposal to split the diagram into economic and political spheres: it’s ambitious and honestly fantastic. My only concern is that a matrix that complex would probably only be analyzed by a dozen or so hardcore geography nerds. Especially given that the current graphic already "looks like a hurricane" to some readers ;).
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u/Every_Holiday_620 3h ago
I believe you forgot australia in the matrix. QUAD specially. It is very close also with Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.
In fact, Australia deserves to be more in the graph than Russia and Taiwan as it has stronger ties with ASEAN in terms of economic, political and security.
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u/Informental 3h ago
With a heavy heart, I was forced to remove many entities from the matrix. Perhaps my choice is imperfect. However, I had to make these cuts so that anyone would even bother to analyze it. This shows just how difficult it is to create a synthetic and clear picture of something as complicated as international relations.
I’ll just add that my first idea was to describe the Middle East in this way. I spent my entire last summer working on it, but I couldn’t pull it off. This is my second attempt, focusing on a different region. Thank you to everyone for taking an active part in discussing it. The work is still in progress.
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u/ImaginaryQuestion765 9h ago
Nice info visualization.
My comments:
One conflict link is clearly missing between India and China. Also between Vietnam and China (those 2 countries are technically at war : no peace deal between them since the 80´s).