China edges out US as S-E Asia's preferred superpower: ISEAS survey

China edges out the United States as South-east Asia's preferred superpower by a narrow margin, if countries in the region were forced to choose between the two major powers, a survey has found.

- Michelle Ng

The findings, published in the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute's The State Of South-east Asia 2024 report on April 2, indicated a notable shift in sentiments among respondents from the region, who had leaned towards the US in the last four surveys.

Among the 1,994 respondents polled across the 10 Asean nations, 50.5 per cent indicated China as their preferred choice, while 49.5 per cent selected the US, when asked a hypothetical question on which country the region should choose if it was forced to align itself with either.

In the 2023 survey, only 38.9 per cent of respondents picked China, with 61.1 per cent opting for the US.

The 2024 survey was conducted online from Jan 3 to Feb 23, and polled respondents from academia, think-tanks, research groups, businesses, civil society, the media and regional or international organisations, as well as governments.

Eligibility criteria were tightened in this edition and respondents were screened on various criteria such as nationality, age, affiliation, education, general knowledge of Asean and level of interest in current affairs.

Respondents could take the survey in one of six language options: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Khmer, Thai and Vietnamese.

First conducted in 2019, the annual survey aims to present a snapshot of the prevailing attitudes among people in a position to inform or influence policy on regional issues.

In the 2024 survey, China continues to be seen as the most influential economic power in South-east Asia, followed by Asean and the US. China was perceived as the most influential political and strategic power in the region, followed by the US.

The Asean nations' perception of the bloc's political and strategic influence is also on the rise, according to the survey.