South-east Asian countries are expected to bear the brunt of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies in the near term, Singapore’s central bank chief said in recent remarks.

Nevertheless, economies have stronger buffers to external shocks compared with two decades ago, said Ravi Menon, managing director of Monetary Authority of Singapore.

“It is too early to tell if Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries will be a net beneficiary of US-China trade tensions,” Menon