Of the survey’s 1,300 respondents, 53.6 percent said ASEAN should opt to align itself with the United States, were it forced to choose between the strategic rivals. Yet, “support for China cannot be under-estimated,” said the State of Southeast Asia: 2020 Survey Report.
“The majority of respondents from seven ASEAN member states choose to align their country with China: Laos (73.9%), Brunei (69.1%), Myanmar (61.5%), Malaysia (60.7%), Cambodia (57.7%), Thailand (52.1%), and Indonesia (52%),” the survey said. “In comparison, strong support for alignment with the US is found in Vietnam (85.5%), the Philippines (82.5%) and Singapore (61.3%).”