The Evolution of Southeast Asian Countries' Perceptions of China and the UK's Roles in Global Governance under "the Belt and Road" Framework: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This paper constructs a trajectory of “governance practices-perception feedback-strategic adjustment” rooted in official documents, mainstream media archives, and people’s opinion surveys across six countries from 2013-2024 in the Southeast Asian location where "the Belt and Road" Initiative engages the Global Britain strategy. This trajectory serves as a framework for a structured comparison of the changing perceptions of China and the shifting perceptions of The United Kingdom (UK) among Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and such like. Research reveals that perceptions regarding China in Southeast Asia have changed from “one single economic opportunity” into a dual regime of “economic necessity – strategic risk”, whilst the perception of the UK has changed from a “colonial legacy” into a value-added proposition of “rules-based complementation – security balancing.” The shifts in perception create differing hedging strategies, for example: Indonesia - institutional autonomy; Malaysia - project-based diversification; while Vietnam takes a security-based soft counterbalancing approach. Collectively these findings demonstrate a “menu-style” preference for governance, that is, predominating economic engagement with China while allowing for and retaining security rule openness toward the UK. The findings give evidence of the capacity for small to medium-sized countries to mobilize great power competition into “risk hedging” assets through nuanced role recognition. These findings have empirical significance for the high-quality development of "the Belt and Road" Initiative and sustainable engagement with the UK’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.