ASEAN: trust and distrust in major global powers 2024

In a survey conducted among Southeast Asians in 2024, Japan was viewed as the most trustworthy out of five selected global powers in the region at 58.9 percent. This marked an increase compared to the previous year, while the trust in the other selected countries decreased. Around half of the Southeast Asian respondents expressed distrust in China in 2024.

Public trust and distrust in major global powers in Southeast Asia in 2023 and 2024

Characteristic	Distrust 2023	Trust 2023	Distrust 2024	Trust 2024
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Release date

April 2024

More information

Region

Asia, APAC

Survey time period

January 3 to February 23, 2024

Number of respondents

1,994 respondents

Special properties

among Southeast Asian respondents

Method of interview

CAPI interview, questionnaire

Supplementary notes

ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is a political and economic union composed of the ten member states Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Methodology according to the source: "The “trust” and “distrust” rankings of five countries that can exert influence on Southeast Asia are based on a consolidated five-point Likert scale of positive and negative responses (“Very Confident” to “No Confidence”). The “No Comment” responses are removed from this analysis."

On their calculation methodology for ASEAN average figures, the source states the following:

We decided to apply a different methodology this year assigning a 10% weighted average to each country’s responses to calculate the average figures for ASEAN as a whole. This is to ensure that the responses of each country are represented by equal proportion, given that ASEAN’s decision-making processes are based on each country having equal say, regardless of country or population size.

Number of respondents in 2024 survey: n = 1,994

Respondent share by nationality:

Brunei: 9.2% (2023) 3.9% (2024)
Cambodia: 10.2% (2023) 9.5% (2024)
Indonesia: 9.3% (2023) 13.3% (2024)
Laos: 8.2% (2023) 8% (2024)
Malaysia: 9.5% (2023) 11.3% (2024)
Myanmar: 8.8% (2023) 9.5% (2024)
Philippines: 7.6% (2023) 10.8% (2024)
Singapore: 15.9% (2023) 13.7% (2024)
Thailand: 11% (2023) 10.1% (2024)
Vietnam: 10.4% (2023) 10% (2024)