Southeast Asia's fast-growing aviation market looks set to become a battleground for the maker of China's homegrown C919 airliner to compete with Airbus and Boeing as Chinese manufacturers strive to move up the global supply chain, according to a March 3 report on the website of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

Strong trade ties with China and a continued rebound in air travel in the wake of the New Crown epidemic have brought new airlines and new routes, meaning the region has become the number one target for COMAC outside of its home market.

"There is an untapped intra-Asian market in Southeast Asia that COMAC can break into with its C919, even though it will be competing with the likes of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 MAX," said Shukur Yusuf, an analyst at aviation industry consultancy Xinglou Analytics, according to the report.

COMAC's C919 narrow-body airliner and ARJ21 regional airliner will conduct demonstration flights in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of a marketing campaign that began on February 27th.

Although the C919's first overseas appearance at the Singapore Airshow brought quite a stir, analysts believe it is just the beginning and COMAC still needs to invest more in improving its service capabilities, the report said.

Andrew Charlton, managing director of an aviation industry consulting firm, said, "COMAC still needs time and more airplane products to get more orders."

Demand for flights in Southeast Asia is expected to increase dramatically, the report said, making a strong case for the Chinese manufacturer to woo airlines in the region by building its product range and services.

COMAC forecasts that the number of civil passenger aircraft worldwide will increase from 24,264 to 51,701 over the next 20 years, with demand for passenger aircraft in the Asia-Pacific market increasing from 3,314 to 9,701.

Last year, COMAC opened its first regional representative office in Indonesia, and its customer in Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Linya Airlines, is already using ARJ21s on routes from Jakarta to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Analysts said the opening of an office in Jakarta was seen as an important step in COMAC's commitment to provide aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, the report said.

For the C919 and ARJ21 to be successful, COMAC needs to build a good support network and infrastructure around its services, the head of Eaton Aerospace Group Asia Pacific said. In a statement, COMAC said it "will be committed to developing good products and providing good services, and strive to provide a reliable new option for the international civil aviation market."

The C919 also plays an important role in China's shift to self-reliance, the report said, as it seeks to reduce imports of advanced technology amid fierce competition with the United States.

For now, tensions between Beijing and Washington don't seem to be affecting China's ambitions to produce and export commercial airliners, with the country already enjoying success with other modes of transportation such as high-speed rail and electric cars.

Both Boeing and Airbus have said they welcome competition from COMAC, saying the commercial airliner market is big enough to accommodate another player. Meanwhile, analysts say it's only a matter of time before COMAC actually breaks the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing.