Now that Donald Trump appears to be headed for the Republican nomination, international attention is shifting to what that might mean beyond America’s borders. Trump’s very presence in the November election means certain assumptions about U.S. foreign policy may come under question—including in the Asia Pacific. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
There is much about Donald Trump’s foreign policy planning that is simply unknown. That includes policy in Asia—where his public comments on defense and trade are getting wide attention. In March, Trump told the New York Times Japan and South Korea should pay more for the tens of thousands of US forces in each country. This week, he went further---telling CNN that both countries should pay all the costs associated with basing US forces there.
Last month, General Vincent Brooks told a congressional panel it’s cheaper to keep U-S forces stationed in Korea than to base them in the United States. Just last week, Brooks took over as commander of U.S. Forces Korea. Trump also said Japan and South Korea might need nuclear weapons…sparking an alarmed reaction in both countries….as well as comments about encouraging a potential nuclear arms race in East Asia.
Trade is the other topic that has drawn some specifics—as Trump has criticized regional trade imbalances and called for a 45% tariff on products from China. Government representatives have generally shown restraint in their public reactions...some media, a bit less so. China’s state-run Global Times wrote Trump is “seriously wrong about how economies work in the present world”….calling his ideas about foreign policy “hollow, nationalistic and inconsistent.”
