The second Trump administration has combined aggressive diplomatic engagement with a confrontational trade policy that alienates allies and risks triggering a global recession, despite legitimate concerns about America’s industrial decline. While Trump's trade agenda aims to restructure global commerce to favor U.S. interests, its unilateral execution and failure to build a coalition undermine its effectiveness and may isolate the U.S. rather than restore its manufacturing strength.

The second Trump administration’s trade policies and assertive defense diplomacy have unsettled key Asian allies, straining some relationships while drawing others into deeper military cooperation. This approach has raised concerns about diminishing strategic autonomy among U.S. partners and the potential for pushing them closer to China.

In the post-World War II period, the US maintained nearly uncontested supremacy over the vast Asia-Pacific region. Under the San Francisco System, or the ‘Hub and Spokes’ architecture, the US established military alliances, provided economic assistance, and proactively engaged with the region. The strategic foundation of US policy relied on both bilateral and multilateral defense agreements, such as those with Japan (1951), South Korea (1953), the Philippines (1951), Australia, New Zealand (collectively known as ANZUS, 1951), and Thailand (1954).

US Vice President J.D. Vance recently tried to cast President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as a wildly successful example of the “Trump Doctrine.” According to Vance, the doctrine is simple: you identify a problem that threatens US interests, which “you try to aggressively diplomatically solve.” If diplomacy fails, “you use overwhelming military power to solve it and then you get the hell out of there before it ever becomes a protracted conflict.”

China-U.S. competition is fueled by overall national strength. In addition to growing its own hard and soft power, it should pay attention to the evolving politics in the United States, as well as the changes in attitude by U.S. allies, and work to create a united front around the world.

Imperialist, exploitative and egocentric — these words describe U.S. policy on the Global South. The policy is deeply ingrained in Trump MAGA agenda, but it’s a loser in the long run.

The European establishment has ramped up its efforts to counter far-right forces, a move that will profoundly shape transatlantic relations in the Trump 2.0 era.

The Trump administration’s confused and misplaced understanding of its own national “interests” and “threats” will not only fail to help resolve the enormous domestic challenges facing the United States but will lead it further down the wrong track.

With U.S. encouragement, Northeast Asia has seen unprecedented cooperation between Japan and South Korea in recent years. But rising economic frictions, domestic political changes in Japan and especially South Korea, and evolving U.S. global priorities could impede or even reverse recent gains.

The extreme radicalism of the U.S. president’s thinking, coupled with the chaotic nature of his policies and their implementation, has significantly accelerated fragmentation and may even precipitate the collapse of the global governance structure.