All major powers—the U.S., China, Japan, the European Union, and India—saw an increase in trust from Southeast Asia this year. Of these, Japan remains the most trusted, and its trust level increased from 58.9% to 66.8%. The E.U. overtook the U.S. for second most trusted, while the U.S., China and India followed in that order.

Punishing tariffs on Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and others in the region threaten their position as major manufacturing hubs for the American market.

The survey findings, released by the ISEAS think tank, show a return for the US as ASEAN’s preferred partner after it fell behind rival China in 2024.