SOUTHEAST Asian countries should be cautious in negotiating with China on its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to avoid being trapped in unsustainable debt, warned 70% of respondents in a survey by Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The survey polled 1,008 respondents from all 10 Asean member nations, but the cautionary view against China was strongest among respondents in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The survey, which was released today, showed that China’s influence was seen as growing both politically and economically in the region.

“The conventional wisdom that China holds sway in the economic realm while the United States wields its influence in the political-strategic domain will… need to be revisited in light of the survey results,” said Reuters, quoting the findings of the study.

Nearly half of the respondents said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s BRI would bring Asean “closer into China’s orbit”, while one-thirds said the project lacked transparency and 16% predicted it would fail.

Critics had accused China of pulling countries into a debt trap with the initiative, an accusation Beijing has denied.

Fewer than one in 10 respondents saw China as “a benign and benevolent power”, with nearly half saying Beijing possessed “an intent to turn Southeast Asia into its sphere of influence”, said the survey.

China was seen by 73% of respondents as having the greatest economic influence in the region, and was also believed to have more influence politically and strategically than the US.

The study’s authors wrote: “This result… is a wake-up call for China to burnish its negative image across Southeast Asia despite Beijing’s repeated assurance of its benign and peaceful rise.” – January 7, 2019.