The State of Southeast Asia 2023: Survey Report

02/09/2023

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Sharon Seah et al. | ASEAN Studies Centre, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Going into its 5th edition, The State of Southeast Asia survey continues to gauge the views and perceptions of Southeast Asians on geopolitical developments affecting the region, key international affairs and how ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners have engaged with the region over the preceding year. The objective of the survey is to present a snapshot of the prevailing attitudes among those in a position to inform or influence policy. The survey is not meant to present a definitive view of issues in the region. This year’s survey was conducted over a period of eight weeks from 14 November 2022 to 6 January 2023. The survey was offered in seven language options – English, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese. A total of 1,308 respondents from ten Southeast Asian countries took part in the survey.

There are six sections in the survey. Section I covers the profile of the respondents by nationality, affiliation and age. Section II deals with questions on the regional outlook and viewpoints on international affairs in the past year. Section III covers regional influence and leadership of major and middle powers. Section IV deals with ASEAN’s options in the changing regional politicalsecurity architecture. Section V measures perceptions of trust among Southeast Asians towards five countries – China, US, Japan, the European Union and India. Section VI gauges levels of soft power in the region based on travel and tertiary education choices. The questions and results have been reorganised for logical flow and optimal reporting. The figures in this report have been rounded up or down to the nearest one decimal point.

 

The-State-of-SEA-2023-Final-Digital-V4-09-Feb-2023

 

To access the full report, click here.