After a decade, in the 2000s, in which China aggressively pursued warmer relations with many Southeast Asian nations, using a combination of diplomacy, aid, and soft power to woo its neighbors, the past five years have seen a significant chill in China-Southeast Asia relations. 

Sino-Kenya cooperation in education, arts and culture has blossomed as evidenced by establishment of four Confucius institutes in the country.  The Counselor of Chinese Embassy to Kenya Yao Ming said cultural diplomacy is a critical component of a comprehensive cooperative partnership endorsed by President Xi Jinping and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013. “People to people exchanges have thrived due to establishment of Confucius Institutes in four Kenyan Universities. Understanding Chinese language and culture is an eye opener to Kenyan youth,” Yao remarked.

The U.S. Peace Corps last year saw its applications reach a 40-year high in response to an initiative to revitalize the overseas service organization. About 23,000 Americans volunteered to serve in the Peace Corps in fiscal 2015, a 32 percent increase from the year before [...] With an annual budget of $379 million, the Peace Corps allows volunteers to serve two-year appointments overseas [...] 

In an effort to better Greece's international image, the country's Department of Foreign Affairs has stated it will strengthen ties with the Greek diaspora to fend off the stigma of 'Grexit' to a more appropriate 'Greform' (Greek reform), following the effects of its economic crisis.

Painting a sanguine outlook for China’s endeavors to enhance soft power, Kim Heung-kyu, political science professor at Ajou University, said that China might be “actively” seeking to utilize its soft power diplomacy including public diplomacy as a tool to expand its influence well beyond East Asia.

India’s cultural capital is enough and more to not let Chinese Confucius institutes win the soft-power game. But, can [India] use it in the proper manner?

Malaysia will set up a regional centre that sends out the "right" message to counter the distorted narrative of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in its recruitment of foreign fighters for its cause.

What we are actually seeing is Diplomacy 2.0 on the Korean peninsula: a nuanced, three-dimensional foreign policy strategy designed to alter Chinese strategic thinking, engage U.S. interests, and ultimately build Northeast Asian cooperation where there was little in the past.