According to a 2024 survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, for the first time, more respondents from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries prefer aligning with China rather than the U.S.

A significant majority of the survey respondents from all three Muslim-majority countries in ASEAN — Malaysia (75%), Indonesia (73%), and Brunei (70%) — preferred aligning with China over the United States. This represents a sharp increase from 2023, when the percentages were 55% for Malaysia, 54% for Indonesia, and 55% for Brunei.

This shift reflects a broader trend of decreasing U.S. influence in the region, driven partly by dissatisfaction with U.S. foreign policies, especially regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. At least four countries identified the Israel-Hamas conflict as their primary geopolitical concern: 83% of respondents in Malaysia, 79% in Brunei, 75% in Indonesia, and 58% in Singapore chose this issue as their top priority.