Bhubhindar Singh

Associate Professor and Head of Graduate Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

Bhubhindar Singh is Associate Professor and Head of Graduate Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is the author of Japanese Security Identity Transformation: From a Peace-State to an International State (2013) and his articles have been published in various journals including the European Journal of International Relations, International Relations of Asia-Pacific, The Pacific Review, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Asian Survey, Asian Security, Asia Policy and the Japanese Journal of Political Science. His main research area is in the international relations of Northeast Asia with a special focus on Japan’s security policy. His secondary research areas are international relations of Southeast Asia and security regionalism in East Asia.

People wearing face masks walk at Shibuya district in Tokyo, Japan, on 19 January 2022. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP)

Politics

What explains Southeast Asia’s trust in Japan?

By Bhubhindar Singh 28 Mar 2022

Japan has consistently come up tops in a local research institute’s survey question on trust among ASEAN’s major dialogue partners. This is despite the history of Japan’s relations with countries in the region. But will the status quo remain unchanged? As Japan and ASEAN gear up to mark 50 years of friendship and cooperation next year, how will Japan work to maintain a strong relationship with the region amid growing US-China tensions?