Majority in Southeast Asia would choose China over US, survey finds | Conflict News

Taipei, Taiwan More than half of people in Southeast Asia would side with China over the United States if forced to choose, a survey suggests, underscoring Beijing's growing influence in the region.

In the State of Southeast Asia Survey 2024 released this week, 50.5% of respondents said they would favor China, an increase of more than 11 percentage points from compared to last year.

The latest edition of the survey, conducted annually by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, is the first to show that China is favored over the United States.

Last year, only 38.9% of respondents preferred China, and 61.1% preferred the United States.

China was also chosen as the most influential economic power in the region by most respondents, with 59.9% of respondents choosing it ahead of the United States.

Although they acknowledged China's influence, respondents also expressed distrust of Beijing, with 67.5% saying they fear its growing economic influence.

Concern was highest in Vietnam, where concern was expressed by 87.7 percent of respondents, followed closely by Myanmar with 87.6 percent, Thailand with 80.3 percent and the Philippines with 75.8 percent.

Just over half of those surveyed said they feared China would use its economic and military might to coerce countries in the region, while 45.5 percent said they did not trust China.

Japan, the United States and the European Union were chosen as the most trusted regional powers by 58.5%, 42.4% and 41.5% of respondents, respectively.

Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the US German Marshall Fund, said the investigation reflected the region's complicated relations with China.

China's views reflect the complexity of most [Southeast Asian] nations with China, Glaser told Al Jazeera.

They recognize China's growing influence, but at the same time fear possible Chinese economic coercion, oppose threats to their sovereignty, and generally do not trust China to do the right thing. SEA countries seek diversity in their relations.

While the world's second-largest economy offers trade and investment opportunities, Beijing has also provoked anger with its handling of issues such as the South China Sea, where it claims a vast swathe of maritime territory in violation of a ruling international arbitration.

Ian Chong, a non-resident researcher at Carnegie China, cautioned that the survey results should be seen as a snapshot of how college-educated Southeast Asians felt in January and February 2024.

It's not necessarily pro-China. His anti-American sentiment is linked to support for Israel's excessive actions in Gaza, and also to the fact that support for Israel means the United States is willing to veto and block UN processes, he said. Chong told Al Jazeera.

Despite geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, the economy took precedence over other concerns of those surveyed.

Unemployment and the prospect of a recession were named as the region's top concerns by 57.7 percent of respondents, followed by climate change (53.4 percent) and intensifying economic tensions between great powers (47 percent).

The region continues to express fears about the gloomy economic outlook given the current state of the global economy. A majority of Southeast Asians fear unemployment and economic recession, the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said in a report accompanying the survey.

Israel's war in Gaza has been singled out as the most pressing geopolitical concern, with particularly high levels of concern in Muslim-majority Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, followed by aggressive behavior in the South China Sea , fraudulent operations and the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Asked about the war in Gaza, 29.7 percent of respondents expressed concern that the conflict could encourage religious extremism, while 27.5 percent said it would undermine international law and to the rules-based order.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has become a contentious issue in Southeast Asia, calling for particular attention in the region's domestic politics, according to the report.

Despite its geographical remoteness, the conflict has had strong repercussions in this diverse, multi-racial and multi-religious region.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/4/4/majority-in-southeast-asia-would-choose-china-over-us-survey-suggests The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos