For Southeast Asia, trust in Japan runs deepest where China presses hardest and breaks down where neutrality is a point of pride.Analysts say that dynamic, revealed in an annual survey released earlier this month, explains why Vietnam and the Philippines both see the East Asian nation as a trusted partner while Indonesia, a country that has long prized non-alignment, is uncomfortable with Tokyo’s deepening embrace of Washington.Trust in Tokyo is highest in the Philippines (77.3 per cent), Brunei (72.9 per cent), Cambodia (72.0 per cent) and Vietnam (67.9 per cent), according to the latest annual State of Southeast Asia survey conducted by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS107
ENT11
MON · 2026-04-20 · 07:02 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0420-70868
NSR-2026-0420-70868News Report·EN·Diplomatic
Vietnam and Philippines trust Japan. Why doesn’t Indonesia?
A recent survey by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute has revealed that trust in Japan is highest among Southeast Asian countries where China's influence is most pronounced. The Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, and Vietnam have the highest levels of trust in Tokyo, with percentages ranging from 67.9% to 77.3%.
Maria SiowSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-04-20 · 07:02 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
107words
Sources cited
2cited
Entities identified
11entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
A recent survey by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute has revealed that trust in Japan is highest among Southeast Asian countries where China's influence is most pronounced. The Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, and Vietnam have the highest levels of trust in Tokyo, with percentages ranging from 67.9% to 77.3%. In contrast, Indonesia, a country that has traditionally prized non-alignment, shows lower levels of trust in Japan due to its increasing alignment with Washington. The survey highlights the complex dynamics of regional relationships and the varying degrees of comfort among Southeast Asian nations with Japan's growing ties with the US. The results provide insight into the evolving security landscape in Southeast Asia.
Confidence 0.85Sources 2Claims 3Entities 11
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Diplomatic
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.80 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
2
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
3 extracted01
Indonesia has long prized non-alignment, making it uncomfortable with Tokyo's deepening embrace of Washington.
factual
Confidence
1.00
02
China presses hardest where trust in Japan breaks down, particularly in Indonesia.
factual
Confidence
1.00
03
Trust in Tokyo is highest in the Philippines (77.3 per cent), Brunei (72.9 per cent), Cambodia (72.0 per cent) and Vietnam (67.9 per cent).
statisticISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Confidence
1.00
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 107 words§ 05
Entities
11 identifiedKey playerOppositionContext
V
Vietnam location · Key Player
90
J
Japan location · Key Player
90
P
Philippines location · Key Player
90
I
Indonesia location · Opposition
80
T
Tokyo location · Key Player
70
C
China location · Opposition
70
WD
Washington, D.C. location · Context
60
B
Brunei location
50
C
Cambodia location
50
IY
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute organization
40
S
Singapore location · Context
30
§ 06
Keywords & salience
6 termstrust in japan
0.80
southeast asia
0.70
china's influence
0.60
washington's role
0.50
non-alignment
0.50
tokyo-washington relations
0.40
§ 07
Topic connections
Interactive graph Network visualization showing 51 related topics
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