Attitudes and Awareness toward ASEAN: Findings of a Ten Nation Survey

1. Attitudes and Awarenesstoward ASEAN:Findings of a Ten Nation Survey Conducted by Dr. Eric C. Thompson National University of Singapore Dr. Chulanee Thianthai Chulalongkorn University

2. Overview • The history and future of ASEAN • Our base-line survey attempts to measure: • Attitudes toward ASEAN • Knowledge about the region and the Association • Orientation toward the region and countries • Sources of information about the region • Aspirations for integration and action • Key findings on a nation-by-nation basis • Summary of region wide trends

3. Subjects • 2,170 undergraduate university students (1064 male and 1106 female) from leading universities in each of the ten member nations of ASEAN • A sample of ~ 200-220 students per university • Average Age: 20 years old

4. Methods • September to November 2007 • Survey questionnaires were handed to students from leading universities

5. Findings: Attitudes toward ASEAN • Toward ASEAN as a Whole Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Most common across the region Singapore and some other countries Myanmar* *Responses from Myanmar were Bi-modal: Positive and Skeptical

6. Findings: Attitudes toward ASEAN • ASEAN citizenship. Over 75% agreed: • Nearly 90% felt that membership in ASEAN is beneficial to their nation and nearly 70 % felt it was beneficial to them personally “ I feel I am a citizen of ASEAN” Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Strongest Agreement Singapore Myanmar Least Agreement

7. Findings: Attitudes toward ASEAN • Similarities among ASEAN countries • Greatest sense of similarity: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia • Least sense of similarity: Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Malaysia Economically and Politically Culturally Dissimilar Similar

8. Findings: Knowledge about the region and the Association • Overall, students have a strong knowledge about the region and association • “How familiar are you with ASEAN ?” • Greatest sense of familiarity: Vietnam, Laos • Least sense of familiarity: Brunei, Singapore, Myanmar

9. Findings: Knowledge about the region and the Association • Students could list nine out of ten ASEAN countries and identify seven on a map of Southeast Asia. • Nearly 75% could identify ASEAN flag • Over 80% in all nations, other than Cambodia (63%), Thailand (38%) and Philippines (36%) • Nearly 50% could identify year of founding • Most in Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia • Least in Thailand and Myanmar 1967

10. Findings: Orientation toward the region and countries • Most Salient Countries: Thailand, Malaysia • Most Familiar: Thailand, Singapore • Sub-regions: Mainland, Maritime • Generally, students are most aware and familiar with countries in their own sub-region • Within Mainland Southeast Asia, other countries are more salient than familiar • In other words, students in Mainland nations feel more familiar with some Maritime countries (Singapore, Malaysia) than with neighbors

11. Findings: Orientation toward the region and countries • Orientations toward Travel and Work • Interest in knowing about other ASEAN countries. In general, over 90% • Strongest in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines • Weakest in Myanmar

12. Findings: Sources of informationabout the region • Primary Sources: Television, School, Newspapers, Books • Secondary Sources: Internet, Radio • Others Sources: Sports, Advertising, Friends • Least Important Sources: Family, Travel, Movies, Music, Work

13. Findings: Sources of informationabout the region Notable Trends • Everywhere, Internet rated less important than television and newspapers • Importance of Internet reveals a linguistic bias (rather than wealth bias) • Media environments differ, for example Radio is especially important in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos; but not so elsewhere

14. Findings: Aspirations for integration and action • Economic Cooperation • Tourism • Development Assistance • Educational Exchange • Security and Military Cooperation • Sports • Cultural Exchange • Political Cooperation Most Important to Least Important Aspects of Integration and Cooperation As ranked by “Strong Agreement” of students across the region

15. Findings: Aspirations for integration and action Issues Crucial to Cooperation and Awareness • Most important: • Poverty Reduction • Education Exchange and Improvements • Science and Technology Development • Moderately important: • Natural Resource and Environmental Management • Low importance: • Cultural Preservation and Promotion

16. Findings: Aspirations for integration and action Issues Crucial to Cooperation and Awareness • Notable variations across the region • Health and Disease Control • High importance in nations seeing it as a threat (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore) but low were problems are endemic (Vietnam, Cambodia) • Science and Technology Development • Very low importance in Singapore, but high elsewhere • Disaster Prevention and Relief; Regional Identity and Solidarity also highly variable

17. National Summaries • Brunei: Students’ knowledge of the region is very good. Attitudes are mostly positive, sometimes range toward ambivalence. Brunei remains one of the least well known countries. • Cambodia: Students are among the strongest ASEAN-enthusiasts. Objective knowledge of the region somewhat less than elsewhere.

18. National Summaries • Indonesia: Generally positive attitudes toward the region. Responses in the middle range of those region-wide. Some affinity for Malay-Muslim neighbors; but not to exclusion of the rest of the region. • Laos: Among the strongest ASEAN-enthusiasts and strongest objective knowledge of ASEAN.

19. National Summaries • Malaysia: Generally positive attitudes toward ASEAN, with some ambivalence. Overall in the middle-range of region-wide responses. • Myanmar: Evidence of two distinct attitudes; Skepticism among a substantial minority, generally positive attitudes among the majority. Weaker knowledge of ASEAN relative to the regional average.

20. National Summaries • Philippines: Relatively weak knowledge of the region and Association; but generally positive attitude and interest about the region. • Singapore: Trend of ambivalence toward the region. Least likely to see ASEAN members as similar; least likely to see themselves as citizens of ASEAN; below average knowledge about the region. But, rate the benefit of their nation’s membership highly. Singapore also the most desirable destination for travel and work.

21. National Summaries • Thailand: Generally positive attitudes toward the region and Association. Somewhat strong but uneven knowledge about the region and Association. • Vietnam: Among the strongest ASEAN-enthusiast and most knowledgeable about the region and Association. Some evidence of Vietnam’s emergence as a site for work and travel (but still less than Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei)

22. General Summary • ASEAN is in potential if not in fact, more than a diplomatic “talking shop” • Students display • High knowledge about ASEAN • Positive attitudes toward ASEAN • Consider themselves “Citizens” of ASEAN • Strongest ASEAN-enthusiasm among the newest, least-affluent members (with the exception of Myanmar)

23. General Summary • Trend to “associate up” and “dissociate down” • Trend to see region as a threat in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore; but not elsewhere. • Need for greater familiarity among Mainland nations • However, overall there is a strong trend in commonality of responses and overall positive attitude toward ASEAN throughout the region.

24. Attitudes and Awarenesstoward ASEAN:Findings of a Ten Nation Survey Conducted by Dr. Eric C. Thompson National University of Singapore Dr. Chulanee Thianthai Chulalongkorn University