By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz
SINGAPORE, April 3 (Bernama) – The majority of Southeast Asians (55.3 per cent) say that climate change and extreme weather events are now the region’s biggest challenge, surpassing unemployment and economic recession, which had topped the list for the past two years, according to a survey report released on Thursday.
The State of Southeast Asia Survey 2025, conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute from Jan 3 to Feb 15, involving 2,023 respondents from ten ASEAN member states, revealed that climate change is the top challenge for four countries.
The Philippines and Vietnam, both frontline countries in the path of strong typhoons, ranked climate change as the top concern, with scores of 70.9 per cent and 70.3 per cent, respectively. They were followed by Malaysia at 55 per cent and Thailand at 54.6 per cent.
Sluggish economic prospects remained second in rank (49.3 per cent) as the region’s biggest challenge, followed closely by fears of intensifying economic tensions between the major powers (48.3 per cent).
Meanwhile, more than half of the respondents (51.6 per cent) rank aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea as their top geopolitical concern, surpassing Israel-Hamas conflict which topped last year’s list. This is followed by global scam operations (48.1 per cent) and the new US leadership (46.9 per cent).
In confronting rising protectionism and nationalism around the world, 40.2 per cent of the respondents prefer to accelerate ASEAN regional integration among member states.
The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) – touted as the world’s first regional digital economy agreement – is an important regional integration tool for ASEAN, with over a third of respondents remaining optimistic about the DEFA’s ability to raise digital capabilities and enhance digital trade in the region.
Speaking at the report launch over a webinar, United States Studies Centre Chief Executive Officer Dr Michael Green said, in light of US President Donald Trump’s announcement on tariffs on Wednesday, he agreed with the respondents’ sentiment.
“So, what should ASEAN do? I think the respondents are right. You fight protectionism with trade liberalisation, ASEAN-wide trade liberalisation...deals with Europe, with Japan, with Australia, with India if possible.
“So, I think the respondents are right, but it’s not easy because when protectionism is in the air, it takes real political leadership to push for trade liberalisation. So, it’s the right answer, but not easy to do,” he said.
The survey also found that the US has overtaken China to become the prevailing choice (52.3 per cent) if the region were forced to align itself with one of the two strategic rivals.
However, China remains the most influential economic (56.4 per cent) and political-strategic (37.9 per cent) power in the region, outpacing the US by significant margins, albeit with some decline in its overall economic and political-strategic influence.
Japan remains the most trusted major power in Southeast Asia (66.8 per cent), up from 58.9 per cent last year, followed by the EU (51.9 per cent), which surpassed the US (47.2 per cent) this year.
Closer to home, Myanmar’s intractable political and humanitarian crisis has continued to challenge ASEAN unity with a third of respondents supporting ASEAN engagement in independent dialogue with all key stakeholders.
Meanwhile, more than two-fifths of respondents would like to see Timor-Leste’s admission proceed at the current pace.
– BERNAMA
