Southeast Asia has major doubts about US reliability in the region, but still wary of China: survey
- More than 68 per cent of those canvassed lack confidence in the US as a ‘strategic partner and provider of regional security’
- But there is also the recognition of Beijing as the unstoppable force it has become, amid an increasing realisation that resistance is futile
A poll of more than 1,000 Southeast Asian experts, analysts and business leaders has laid bare the concerns of a region trying to find its way amid the rise of China and the decline of the United States’ influence.
The State of Southeast Asia: 2019 Report portrays an array of thought leaders who are losing faith in Washington, but still harbour deep concerns about Beijing.
More than 68 per cent of those surveyed doubted the reliability of the US as a “strategic partner and provider of regional security”.
At the same time, the report – authored by the Asean Studies Centre at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute – said only 8.9 per cent viewed China as a “benign and benevolent power”.
Of those surveyed, almost 45 per cent said they anticipated an uncertain or turbulent year ahead.
Nearly 70 per cent of respondents said the US and China are on a “collision course” in Southeast Asia, with that opinion most pronounced in Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia. Only 22.5 per cent expected the two superpowers to “resolve their differences and agree to a working relationship”.
