Trump needs foreign policy wins on Asian trip to reverse his soft power disaster
Richard Heydarian writes that the mix of China’s influence and North Korea’s missile capability will present big strategic challenges for visiting US president
US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Asia couldn’t take place at a more crucial juncture. Under the controversial president’s watch, America’s decades-long regional hegemony is under stress as never before. More crucially, peace and prosperity in one of the world’s most dynamic regions can no longer be taken for granted.
The US leader is expected to embark on a marathon 12-day foreign trip in early November. He will visit three allied nations (i.e., South Korea, Japan and the Philippines), a new strategic partner (Vietnam) and Asia’s most powerful nation (China).
In Asia, Trump has his work cut out for him. On the one hand, he will have to manage rising tensions with China and North Korea lest he risk igniting a renewed cycle of military conflict in an already volatile strategic landscape.
On the other hand, he will have to reassure friends and allies that the US will not shed its prior bilateral obligations and multilateral commitments in favour of unilateral isolationism.
In China, Trump faces the challenge of soliciting maximum help with the North Korean missile threat. In exchange, he likely will have to find a mutually acceptable accommodation in the South China Sea and scale back punitive trade measures against Beijing.