Truly, Lao, Cambodia and Vietnam are ill afford to be play out as a proxy front between China and USA; unless you people want to lives like these Lebanon people and being torn into different fraction and having wars and daily bombing in your land.
China been an Imperial Power for the last 5,000+ years; no American is going to upstart a return of China to her rightful place.
The last thing smaller ASEAN nations is to bet on the wrong horse of America and in turn have to face the wrath of the Chinese nation. Remember, by 2030 China GDP will be larger then USA; and China military would be the largest in the world....... my Laotian Lover and the rest of the smaller ASEAN should get into the ground floor before we Chinese fully regain our full strength.
Trust me on this, America can't save you people in the back yard of China.........! This is reality and history, that is something that ASEAN must learn to respect. A powerful China ain't going away for the next 100+ years; so, it is wiser to pick the winner now ....... then to making a mistake you will regrets for the longest of time.