More people in Southeast Asia expect American engagement in the region under the Donald Trump administration to increase this year, according to a new survey by Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Countries exhibiting the strongest sentiment in this area – accounting for more than 40 per cent of respondents – are Laos, Vietnam, Brunei and Cambodia.
On the flipside, a third of respondents think that American engagement will decrease or significantly lessen under Trump’s second term.
Singapore had the most pessimistic outlook, with more than half of respondents from the city state indicating this view. Malaysia followed closely at 48.3 per cent, while Thailand was at 40.9 per cent.
There was a danger, however, in oversimplifying the Asean’s response to Trump, Michael Green, chief executive officer of the United States Studies Centre in Australia, warned at a webinar for the launch of the survey on Thursday morning.
“A lot of experts around the world have predicted that a Trump presidency would mean abandonment of Asia, or a retreat from Southeast Asia,” he said. “We should be very careful not to stereotype or simplify how Asean states will respond to Donald Trump, or how a Trump administration will necessarily work with Asean.”
