U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year was identified in a new survey as one of Southeast Asia’s top three geopolitical worries.
Trump took third place at 46.9% in top concerns for Southeast Asians, according to a ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute survey published Thursday. Hostilities in the South China Sea was first with 51.6% of 2,023 people surveyed saying it was a major geopolitical concern.
About a third of the respondents said they expect decreased U.S. engagement with some citing Trump’s "unpredictable character” as a reason.
The survey, conducted earlier this year, was published hours after Trump announced he will apply at least a 10% tariff on all exporters to the United States. He leveled even higher duties on most Southeast Asian countries, which have labor-intensive manufacturing sectors that rely on the U.S. as a primary export market.
Still, the U.S. overtook China in the survey to become the prevailing choice if the region were forced to align with one of the two rivals. More than half of the respondents believe the region "should enhance its resilience and unity to fend off pressures from the two global powers,” according to the poll.
Japan remained the "most trusted major power” among 66.8% of the Southeast Asians surveyed, rising from about 59% last year. The U.S. fell to the third spot behind the European Union, while some 41% of the respondents expressed distrust toward China.
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