The Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute finds in its latest State of Southeast Asia 2024 survey that for the first time, 59.9 percent of respondents chose China over the United States as the most influential economic power in the region, compared with  38.9 percent of  such respondents the previous year. Click here

This change of perception may have been influenced by perceived American bias over the Israel-Hamas war, according to a South China Morning Post report.

It may also be due to the reality that China has become the predominant economic power for some SE Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Nevertheless, certain SE nations like the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore, to various degrees, continue to tilt towards thed United States. 

A chart taken from the survey illustrates this dichotomy. Download SE Asian nations – More positive views of China – Singapore Survey

In any event, the above doesn't alter the situation that SE Asian nations prefer a peaceful balance between the United States and China, rather than being forced to take sides, least of all in a military conflict.