A recent survey suggests that most Southeast Asian nations prefer China as a strategic partner over the United States, according to geopolitical analysts. Experts caution, however, that this reflects a desire to diversify relationships rather than a direct rejection of one superpower.

Most Southeast Asians would choose China as a strategic partner over the US if forced to pick, as analysts attribute the findings of an annual survey to recent geopolitical and trade uncertainties driven by Washington’s policies. But analysts warn against interpreting the respondents’ sentiment in the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute survey as a zero-sum game between the superpowers, saying that Asean is looking to diversify partners in a multipolar world. When asked which superpower the region...