Unclear direction of Trump policy poses uncertainty, possible danger to Asia-Pacific region, says expert
Veteran Washington expert Gregory B. Poling sees danger in next US president viewing Asia solely through the prism of China
Some of America’s foreign policy elite are “unprepared” for Donald Trump’s win and the lack of any clear understanding over the next US president’s policy direction could pose great uncertainty and danger to the Asia-Pacific region, warns a veteran Washington expert on maritime and Southeast Asia politics.
The victory of the real estate tycoon and political outsider on Tuesday sent shock waves not only through the political establishment in Washington, but also nations around the world – in particular America’s Asia-Pacific allies who have been nervously looking for clues about what a Trump presidency would mean for the region.
Gregory B. Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a fellow at the Southeast Asia Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said even the foreign policy elite in Washington were in the dark,.
He also suggested that Asian nations might need a “Plan B” in case the Trump administration reduced the US presence in the region.
“The foreign policy community is wildly unprepared for the Trump victory …” said Poling “… and is, for the most part, completely divorced from any decision-making going on in the Trump campaign.”