• Burmese
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
24 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

Trump Presidency to Create High Anxiety Among Asian Allies

Reuters by Reuters
November 10, 2016
in World
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Demonstrators hold signs outside Trump Tower during a protest march against President-elect Donald Trump in Manhattan, New York. / Andrew Kelly / New York

Demonstrators hold signs outside Trump Tower during a protest march against President-elect Donald Trump in Manhattan, New York. / Andrew Kelly / New York

9.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

TOKYO/SEOUL – Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election will deepen Asian allies’ anxiety about Washington’s commitment to post-war security arrangements in the face of a rising China and volatile North Korea, and could bolster calls from conservatives in Tokyo for a more robust defense policy.

Trump’s ‘‘America First’’ rhetoric and calls for allies to pay more of the cost for US troops in the region or face their possible withdrawal have worried officials in some Asian capitals. So has his opposition to a 12-nation pan-Pacific trade pact that was a linchpin of Washington’s ‘‘pivot’’ to the region.

‘‘We should expect dramatic changes in the security environment,’’ said South Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk in parliament on Wednesday.

RelatedPosts

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

May 10, 2025
770
Myanmar Junta Boss Returns to China’s Embrace After Russia Trip

Myanmar Junta Boss Returns to China’s Embrace After Russia Trip

March 12, 2025
5.4k
India Curries Favor; Junta Boss Showers Titles – Hail ‘King Putin’; and More

India Curries Favor; Junta Boss Showers Titles – Hail ‘King Putin’; and More

March 8, 2025
4.1k

But he added: ‘‘In any case, there should not be any wavering in the Korea-US military alliance, which has been the foundation of prosperity of this country.’’

A Japanese government official, speaking before Trump clinched the election, urged the new president to send a reassuring message.

‘‘The new president-elect should as soon as possible issue a statement reassuring the rest of the world that the strong commitment of the United States to its allies … remains strong and reliable,’’ said the official, who declined to be identified.

‘‘We are certainly concerned about the comments [Trump] has made to date about the alliance and the US role in the Pacific, particularly Japan,’’ the Japanese official said, although he added Trump’s policies might not match his rhetoric.

Trump has made several comments that disturbed Washington’s Asian allies, from insisting they must foot more of the two-way defense bill to suggesting it might be alright for Tokyo and Seoul develop nuclear arms capability.

Footing the Bill

In an article criticizing US President Barack Obama’s ‘‘pivot’’ to Asia as ‘‘talking loudly but carrying a small stick’’ two Trump advisors said he would beef up the US Navy while asserting it was ‘‘only fair’’ that Seoul and Tokyo pay more for defense.

‘‘There is no question of Trump’s commitment to America’s Asian alliances as bedrocks of stability in the region,’’ wrote University of California professor Peter Navarro and Alexander Gray, a former advisor to US politician Randy Forbes, in the article, which appeared in the Nov. 7 edition of Foreign Policy.

The article also criticized the Obama administration for failing to halt China’s aggressive maritime activities in the East and South China Seas, where Beijing has territorial rows with several countries in the region.

Trump has called for more ships for the US Navy. The ‘‘mere initiation of the Trump naval program will reassure our allies that the United States remains committed in the long term to its traditional role as guarantor of the liberal order in Asia’’, the authors said.

Trump’s approach to the North Asia security alliances could spark calls in Japan for a more independent security stance, although serious talk of acquiring nuclear weapons is unlikely to emerge in the only nation to suffer atomic bombings.

‘‘I think they will have more legitimacy,’’ said a Japanese diplomat, referring to those seeking a more robust security stance. ‘‘But the Japanese public is reluctant to go in that direction and we don’t have the capacity in terms of budget or [military] personnel.’’

TPP Not Just Trade

Asian allies who joined the 12-nation Tran-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, a linchpin of Obama’s Asia pivot, now fear the pact is dead, given Trump’s harsh opposition.

That has implications not only for trade, but security, since Washington and Tokyo had seen the TPP as way of creating a new regional rule-based architecture to counter China.

‘‘TPP was not just a trade deal, it was the United States and Japan, together … these countries with shared values would create an advanced regional order with not just economic, but diplomatic and security implications,’’ said Toshihiro Nakayama, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo.

‘‘It was a symbol of America being committed to the region.’’

Singapore-based security expert Tim Huxley warned of a period of potentially destabilizing uncertainty ahead as the region waits for clearer strategic signs of precisely what a Trump presidency would mean for Asia.

‘‘Unless Trump speaks reassuringly and soothingly about the continued US presence and commitment to the region, I won’t be surprised to see long-held doubts awoken in the minds of many Asian leaders about the durability of the traditional US role,” he said.

Policy-makers expect it will take considerable time for Trump to work out personnel appointments and get down to policy formation. Divisive US politics could also slow things down. That could mean a worrisome vacuum, but also suggests no quick, dramatic changes are in store.

‘‘It will take about half a year for Mr. Trump to firm up his foreign policies. He only has a transition team of about 200 people and his first focus will be domestic policy,’’ said Masashi Adachi, head of the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s foreign policy panel.

‘‘I don’t think there will be a big change in his stance toward Japan. He has said the Japan-US alliance is important. What he is talking about is details like increasing what Japan pays for US troops in Japan,’’ Adachi added.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: AsiaForeign RelationsUnited States
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts
Analysis

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 20, 2024
16.7k

Three major operations to retake territory from ethnic armies and their allies are being hampered by troop shortages, experts say.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Boss Returns to China’s Embrace After Russia Trip
Myanmar-China Watch

Myanmar Junta Boss Returns to China’s Embrace After Russia Trip

by The Irrawaddy
March 12, 2025
5.4k

Min Aung Hlaing hosts Chinese envoy for talks on Beijing’s Shan intervention and support for regime’s planned poll.   

Read moreDetails
Rakhine War: Dozens More Defeated Myanmar Junta Troops Flee to Bangladesh
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Rakhine War: Dozens More Defeated Myanmar Junta Troops Flee to Bangladesh

by Muktadir Rashid  
June 13, 2024
5.3k

Latest exodus from battle with Arakan Army comes just days after Dhaka repatriated 134 regime runaways. 

Read moreDetails
India Curries Favor; Junta Boss Showers Titles – Hail ‘King Putin’; and More
Junta Watch

India Curries Favor; Junta Boss Showers Titles – Hail ‘King Putin’; and More

by The Irrawaddy
March 8, 2025
4.1k

Also this week, the regime chief strengthened ties with Russia and Belarus during a goodwill tour of his key allies.

Read moreDetails
US Renews Support for Myanmar Opposition as China Meets Junta
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

US Renews Support for Myanmar Opposition as China Meets Junta

by AFP
August 17, 2024
4k

Two US government representatives held an online meeting with the civilian National Unity Government and rebel armies.

Read moreDetails
Blaming Ex-Dictator for Blackouts; Leading Tatmadaw’s Historic Humiliation; and More
Junta Watch

Blaming Ex-Dictator for Blackouts; Leading Tatmadaw’s Historic Humiliation; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 18, 2025
3.5k

Also this week, the Air Force chief urged escalation of a campaign that has killed over 1,000 civilians, and the...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Italian Mola Giannunzoo Michele has been deported for a Buddha tattoo on his leg. / Michael Riyo / Facebook

Italian Tourist Deported for Buddha Tattoo

The Karen National Union (KNU) chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe (left) and vice-chairperson Naw Zipporah Sein photographed during meeting of ethnic armed organizations at the KNU headquarters in Lay Wah, Pa-an District, Karen State in Jan. 2014. / Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy

KNU Postpones Upcoming Congress

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

6 days ago
1.2k
Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

2 days ago
866

Most Read

  • Myanmar Resistance Briefly Captures Junta Battalion HQ in Bago

    Myanmar Resistance Briefly Captures Junta Battalion HQ in Bago

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • At Least 11 Schoolkids Massacred in Myanmar Junta Air Raid in Sagaing

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Thousands Still Homeless as Naypyitaw Rebuilding Stalls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.