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Southeast Asia unsure of the value of Asean, poll by Singapore think tank shows
- A survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak institute shows 75 per cent of respondents do not feel tangible benefits from the regional bloc
- Political instability and climate change issues were major concerns, along with fears of being caught up in the power struggle between the US and China
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Dewey Simin Beijing
Southeast Asian countries are growing sceptical of the value of Asean, amid intensifying fears of being caught up in a competition for dominance between major powers – particularly the United States and China.
These are the findings of a new poll by Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, which canvassed the views of more than 1,300 experts, analysts, and business leaders across countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
About 75 per cent of respondents said Asean’s tangible benefits were “not felt”, up from 73 per cent last year, according to the report titled “The State of Southeast Asia”.
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“The fact that nearly three in four respondents do not feel the tangible benefits of Asean after 52 years of community building calls for deep introspection by Asean and its member states,” wrote the institute’s researchers in the report, which was launched on Thursday.
Delays or detours in national implementation are the biggest bottleneck in the delivery of Asean’s public goods to the people
They noted, however, that this did not equate to Asean “not providing” tangible benefits.
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