Diamond Member Pelican Press 0 Posted April 3 Diamond Member Share Posted April 3 U.S. loses its spot to China as Southeast Asia’s most favored ally, survey finds Female travelers viewing travel information via mobile apps during their visit to Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand. Nitat Termmee | Moment | Getty Images A majority of Southeast Asians would align with China and not the U.S. if forced to pick sides, though some countries that feel threatened by Beijing’s South China Sea claims still prefer Washington, This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . This is the first time Beijing has edged past Washington since 2020 when the annual survey first posed the question. The U.S. as a preferred choice dropped to 49.5% from 61.1% last year. The survey was conducted by Singapore-based think tank ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute between Jan. 3 and Feb. 23 with 1,994 respondents from academia, business, government, civil society and the media. Respondents were from the Association of Southeast ****** Nations, with the highest number of participants from Singapore and Indonesia. China at over 50% emerged as the most strategically relevant partner for ASEAN, edging past the U.S., while Japan continues to be the most trusted major power in the region, the survey revealed. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up for four consecutive years, with trade volume reaching $911.7 billion in 2023. However, half of the respondents also expressed distrust toward China, with 45.5% saying that they ***** Beijing could use its economic and military power to threaten their country’s interest and sovereignty, the report said. China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea is the Philippines’ (90.2%) and Vietnam’s (72.5%) top concern, the region’s two frontline South China Sea claimant states. The Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up last month that his government’s claims on certain parts of the South China sea should not be viewed as provoking China. “This is not poking the bear, as it were. We are trying to do quite the opposite. We are trying to keep things at a manageable level, to continue the dialogue, whatever they are, at every level,” he said. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up over islands in the South China Sea though Beijing has brushed aside those claims. The survey revealed the U.S. still holds majority support among The Philippines (83.3%) and Vietnam (79%) respondents, who are inclined to align with the U.S. over China. “While China has gained some ground in Southeast Asia in terms of garnering favorable public perception, it is worth noting that some of its most acute territorial disputes are also located in the region,” said Kenddrick Chan of LSE IDEAS, the foreign policy think-tank of the London School of Economics and Political Science. ASEAN should build up its resilience and unity to fend off pressures from the two major powers, the U.S. and China, nearly half of the survey respondents said. Global macroeconomic uncertainty continues to be a concern for the region, with a majority of Southeast Asians (57.7%) fearing unemployment and an economic recession. China’s economic slowdown might have driven those concerns, according to the survey. Other concerns include the *******-****** conflict in October 2023 and the subsequent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Though geographically, they may be happening far away, the impacts are felt through supply chain disruptions which may directly impact energy and food prices. “This year’s survey results clearly reflect heightened regional concerns over economic issues and the risk that unrestrained geopolitical rivalry that can adversely affect the region’s interests in the short to medium term,” Choi Shing Kwok, director and CEO at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said in a This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . “At the same time, the results also tell us that the region ******** hopeful that major powers can cooperate on issues of mutual benefit and welcomes other major powers in the region to engage more closely with ASEAN.” ******** President Xi Jinping met with Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Monday for talks, according to This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . Xi said China views its relations with Indonesia from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to deepen all-round strategic cooperation with Indonesia. Beijing on Monday said This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up will separately visit China from April 2 to 5 at the invitation of ******** Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a bid to shore up cooperation. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Asia Economy,business news #U.S #loses #spot #China #Southeast #Asias #favored #ally #survey #finds This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Link to comment https://hopzone.eu/forums/topic/10125-us-loses-its-spot-to-china-as-southeast-asia%E2%80%99s-most-favored-ally-survey-finds/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
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