The Perception Game: How Are China and the US Viewed in Southeast Asia?

The Perception Game: How Are China and the US Viewed in Southeast Asia?

The recently released “The State of Southeast Asia 2024 Survey Report,” published by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, has garnered significant attention due to its noteworthy findings. One of the key highlights of the survey is China’s ascendancy over the United States as Southeast Asia’s preferred alignment choice amid the ongoing China-U.S. rivalry. However, a closer … Read more

Indonesia’s Evolving Perception of China

Indonesia’s Evolving Perception of China

The findings from ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s State of Southeast Asia 2024 survey present a nuanced picture of Indonesian perceptions towards China. While the data indicates a notable increase in China’s influence across Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, the underlying sentiments reflect a complex interplay of economic opportunities, geopolitical concerns, and socio-cultural affinities. According to the … Read more

The Land-Locked Thinking of Laotians

The Land-Locked Thinking of Laotians

A survey that interviews just 159 or 160 compatriots is probably not the ideal way of judging how an entire country thinks, but so few opinion polls emanate from Laos and so few international pollsters are interested in it that the latest State of Southeast Asia survey, from Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, is arguably the … Read more

Southeast Asians Don’t Really Care About the Myanmar Crisis

3 Years Since Myanmar’s Coup, Stronger Global Action Is Needed

The ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s annual State of Southeast Asian survey dropped last week, heady times for an overstretched columnist. Not so positive, however, if you’re busy battling a barbarous military junta and are looking around for a bit of moral support from your fellow Southeast Asians. Let’s turn to page 16 of the survey report. … Read more

Is Southeast Asia Really Turning Toward China?

ASEAN Continues to Move Slowly on the Myanmar Crisis

Yesterday, Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute published its State of Southeast Asia survey report for 2024, the release of which has become an annual gauge of elite opinion on key issues of regional and global import. This year’s survey, based on interviews with 1,994 policymakers, journalists, businesspeople, and pundits from the 10 countries of the Association … Read more