The US Role in Asia Under Trump Administration 2017-21: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

The Trump administration’s policies towards Asia represented a major shift on many levels compared to past US policies – it was bilateralism, nationalist, and soaked in competition, especially with China. This paper seeks to analyse how the Trump administration policies affected individual Asian countries: China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, India, Southeast Asia (ASEAN), Taiwan. Analytical approaches used in the present study were diplomatic, economic, and military analysis of the action taken by the administration using official records documents, policy papers, and expert opinions. Outcomes show that, on the one hand, the administration improved the partnership with Japanese, South Korean, and Indian defence establishments, fortified Taiwan’s security, and, on the other hand, raised tensions through the trade war campaign, strategic decoupling policy, and an unpredictable approach to ASEAN. These actions served to deepen polarization in the region – this is not bad news for those who, as has been said earlier, wish to dominate the region. The paper also speaks about rather weak outcomes of the Trump-Kim meetings for dismantling of nuclear potentials in North Korea. Conclusion: In its Asia policy, the Trump administration reaffirmed the commitment to allies and partners while at the same time exacerbated tensions: the period produced a mixed legacy that will linger in the relations in the post-Trump period.

Keywords: ASEAN, China, Defense Cooperation, Diplomatic Rivalry, Economic influence, Indo-Pacific strategy, India , Japan, Multilateral engagement, North Korea, US-Asia relations.