Donald Trump is set to tear up a giant Pacific trade pact and has questioned alliances that have defined America\u2019s engagement in Asia since World War II. But it\u2019s too early to declare President Barack Obama\u2019s \u201cpivot\u201d dead.<\/p>\n
For Asia\u2019s leaders, a big question from Trump\u2019s win is whether America\u2019s military and economic focus on Asia will continue, given how Trump played on a populist mood at home and pledged a less interventionist foreign policy. With an increasingly expansionist China on their doorstep, many countries have looked to the U.S. to provide a counterbalance.<\/p>\n
Now diplomats and analysts are parsing Trump\u2019s comments and those of his advisers to try and separate his campaign rhetoric of \u201cAmerica First\u201d from the reality of governing, even with the Republican party controlling Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing out of the campaign there was the perception that he was going to pull back and not get entangled overseas,\u201d said Sam Crane, a professor of Chinese politics at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Based on the names being considered for key posts — Randy Forbes for secretary of the Navy for example — and commentaries by Trump\u2019s inner circle, Crane said he \u201cis going to be as, or even more, assertive than Obama.\u201d<\/p>\n
An article published last week by Trump campaign advisers Alexander Gray and Peter Navarro said Obama\u2019s policy was \u201ctalking loudly but carrying a small stick,\u201d with the deployment of warships to Singapore and marines to Darwin \u201ctoken gestures.\u201d Under Trump the Navy would be expanded to \u201creassure our allies that the United States remains committed in the long term to its traditional role as guarantor of the liberal order in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Pillsbury, an adviser to Trump\u2019s transition team who worked in the Reagan administration, said the article was cleared by the president-elect.<\/p>\n
Trump has been quick to speak with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia about his commitment to security ties.\u00a0Even so, given his unpredictable style, it\u2019s impossible to say what he will do in office. In one sign of nervousness over that uncertainty, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is stopping off in New York this week en route to a summit in Peru in order to meet Trump.<\/p>\n
The full implications of Trump\u2019s elevation for Asia are yet to be \u201cfully appreciated,\u201d said former Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa. The country\u2019s\u00a0Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan said in an interview last week it\u2019s too early to judge Trump, \u201cbut I believe the U.S. will see their national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s give him two months after he\u2019s inaugurated to see what he\u2019ll do,\u201d Panjaitan said.<\/p>\n
Read more: A QuickTake on China\u2019s territorial disputes in Asia<\/p>\n
The U.S. has been the dominant military presence in Asia since the end of World War II, though it has been in Asia for much longer, ruling the Philippines for a number of decades starting in the late 19th century. That position is in doubt not just because of Trump. China is seeking under Xi Jinping to become a global power, and is using its economic and military heft to push the U.S. aside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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