SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian countries should be cautious in negotiating with China on its flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to avoid being trapped in unsustainable debt, 70 percent of respondents said in a policy survey released on Monday. Southeast Asia is increasingly sceptical of U.S. commitment to the region as a strategic partner and a source of security, while China's reach is seen as growing both politically and economically, the study also showed. About a third said they had little or no confidence in the U.S. as a strategic partner and provider of regional security.Fewer than one in 10 saw China as "a benign and benevolent power," with nearly a half saying Beijing possessed "an intent to turn Southeast Asia into its sphere of influence".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. "There was a call for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to play a more active role in Myanmar 's Rohingya crisis, although a majority of the respondents sought mediation rather than diplomatic pressure.The United Nations says 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar's Rakhine State to Bangladesh since the military's crackdown on insurgent attacks.U.N.-mandated investigators have accused Myanmar's military of carrying out killings, gang rape and arson with "genocidal intent," an allegation the military has denied. (Reporting by Jack Kim in Singapore and Simon Lewis in Yangon; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: Economic Times January 06, 2019 15:56 UTC