The latter refers to actions by states that are too weak to build up their own armed
forces or form countervailing military alliances, and so choose instead to use
non military tools to “delay, frustrate, and undermine,” and increase the costs
of the threatening state’s use of military power.Most Southeast Asian states,
in contrast, could form strong military alliances with the United States and their neighbors if they wished, but instead they pursue a more subtle balancing strategy.