Military bases to ballistic missiles, what’s the target of Trump’s Asia strategy?
- New US defence secretary Mark Esper has announced plans to deploy missiles and build more US bases in Asia
- But he faces an uphill battle convincing countries wary of entering China’s crosshairs
In Asia, defence policymakers and analysts who have watched unprecedented internal turmoil unfold in the Pentagon during Trump’s tenure say they, too, hope West Point graduate and former Army Secretary Esper will bring much needed continuity to the civilian leadership of the world’s most powerful military.
The fizzling out of the “pivot to Asia” strategy of former president Barack Obama, together with Trump’s inward-looking “America First” stance and the recent turbulence at the Pentagon have raised serious questions about just where the region now stands in America’s priorities.
One senior Asian defence official, taking stock of Esper’s recently concluded five-nation tour of the region, said it had not gone unnoticed that the US defence chief had picked this neck of the woods for his maiden overseas trip.
The official said members from his military establishment had cultivated cordial ties with Esper’s immediate predecessors during the Trump era, only to be left wondering about policy continuity after they left abruptly.