Trump's America leaves Southeast Asia in a spin – with China waiting in the wings
Five months into
Donald Trump 's presidency, Southeast Asia finds itself adrift. The foundations of its relationship with the US have been shaken by punitive tariffs and a sudden withdrawal of aid that hurt some of the region's most vulnerable – even as Washington maintains its military presence with an eye fixed squarely on China.
Advertisement
This volatility has deepened a sense of American 'unreliability' across Southeast Asia, according to experts who spoke to This Week in Asia.
Yet a complete rupture between the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the
United States remains unlikely. With China looming large across the horizon, Washington's security commitments are expected to endure and continue shaping the region's diplomatic calculus.
At the recent
Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out Washington's Indo-Pacific strategic vision, citing Beijing's relentless military drills around Taiwan and escalating naval confrontations in the
South China Sea
'There's no reason to sugar-coat it,' Hegseth said. 'The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.'
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 31. Photo: Reuters
Hegseth called on US allies and partners to share more of the defence burden, stressing that such cooperation would enable Washington to allocate more resources to the Indo-Pacific, describing it as 'our priority theatre'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Indonesia's Prabowo openly admires Singapore's success. What can he ‘copy with pride'?
On his first state visit to Singapore, Indonesia 's President Prabowo Subianto was strikingly candid: he had 'copied with pride' his neighbour's approach to housing and investment, he said – presenting the city state as a model for his own government's ambitious development agenda. Advertisement But chasing Singapore 's success risks overlooking the deeper reforms Indonesia must tackle to make such policies work at home, analysts say. The remarks came [earlier this week for online as Prabowo met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and held talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the two nations' annual leaders' retreat. Prabowo, who spent part of his childhood in Singapore 'when it was still a British colony', spoke openly of his admiration for the city state's transformation and its founding leadership. 'To be very frank, I've always admired the success of Singapore and especially the success of the early leaders of Singapore, their leadership, statesmanship,' he said at a joint press conference with Wong on Monday. Advertisement The Indonesian leader has long praised Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew . At his memorial service in 2015, Prabowo said Lee's greatest legacy was 'creating a system that has succeeded in creating a meritocracy and in grooming two or three generations of good leaders'.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Thailand's PM digs in as defections and legal challenge threaten her power
Thailand 's besieged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra scrambled on Saturday to shore up her wobbling coalition after a leaked phone call drove defections from her government and rekindled resentments against her family, threatening to end her time in office after less than a year. Advertisement Compounding her woes, Paetongtarn is set to face a court challenge from Thai senators and planned street protests demanding her ouster. Thailand's youngest ever leader at 38 and the daughter of divisive two-time leader Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to apologise after a call with Cambodia 's former leader Hun Sen was leaked amid an increasingly tense border stand-off. In the call, Paetongtarn addressed Hun Sen as 'uncle' and appeared to criticise a senior Thai military officer, in a country where the powerful military has carried out a dozen coups and draws on a well of nationalist support. Key coalition partner Bhumjaithai has left the government over the apparent failure by the prime minister to defend Thailand's interests. Another partner in the coalition – United Thai Nation Party – is threatening to abandon the administration unless she resigns. 03:41 Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Meanwhile, a petition from the Senate has been submitted to the Constitutional Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to have her removed from her post over the revelations in the call.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Why a US aircraft carrier's voyage to the Middle East is causing ripples around Taiwan
The Pentagon has diverted an aircraft carrier strike group from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, marking the US Navy's fourth such manoeuvre in less than a year and prompting words of caution in Taiwan Analysts said the United States would need to look at ways to balance immediate operational needs in the Middle East with long-term strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, as fluctuating and prolonged conflicts made greater demands on American military resources. According to media reports, the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz halted operations in the South China Sea on Monday to sail to the Middle East to support the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group. The carrier cancelled plans to dock in Vietnam this week, Reuters reported on Monday citing sources, one of whom said the US embassy in Hanoi had mentioned 'an emergent operational requirement'. 01:16 US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea The redeployment comes as arch-enemies Israel and Iran are engaged in their worst hostilities in decades.
