Trump’s bizarre treatment of allies can destabilize Asia-Pacific | Robert Benson

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, conducted annually since the 1970s, citing their cost and Seoul’s refusal to support the U.S. against Iran. The move raises questions about deterrence, alliance cohesion and Trump’s strategy towards Kim Jong-Un.

“It’s completely bizarre, but it’s in keeping with the way that the president of the United States communicates to strategic American allies,” Robert Benson, Associate Director of the National Security and International Policy Center for American Progress, told TVP World, pointing out that the U.S. President appears more concerned with the opinion of the North Korean dictator who is aiding Russia in war against Ukraine than in a long-standing ally of Washington. “There’s this general feeling of uneasiness, not only within Pacific allies, but also I’d mention European allies. (...) Will Washington come to the defense of treaty allies? I don't know if Taipei, Tokyo, or Canberra have a clear answer today.”

“And that’s deeply, deeply problematic because it creates ambiguity in the international security space,” Benson added. “And when you have ambiguity in security space, that’s when someone like a Xi Jinping or a President Putin can possibly take a gamble, be it in Taiwan or be it potentially expanding the war in Ukraine.""

Join TVP World’s Ashim Kumar and his guest as they explore the consequences of scaling back one of Asia’s most important military partnerships, whether economic and political disputes are reshaping U.S. security commitments abroad, and how questions surrounding Washington’s reliability could influence strategic calculations not only in allied capitals, but also in Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow.

Chapters:
00:00 Scaling back joint U.S.-South Korean exercises and its impact on deterrence
03:27 North Korea’s influence on Trump
05:28 The Iran factor and trade disputes as a source of Seoul-Washington tensions
07:34 Anxiety among U.S. allies in Asia-Pacific
09:13 Trump’s alignment with autocratic leaders
11:20 U.S. foreign policy and U.S. midterm elections

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