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EXPERT COMMENT

The Trump administration’s approach to its alliances has shaken Europe. Indo-Pacific partners also have cause to be worried.

US Vice President JD Vance gave a speech that shocked European allies at the Munich Security Conference this month, putting US commitment to European security into question. But on the sidelines of the event, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was meeting with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers. 

It was the first high-level meeting of the Japan–South Korea–US trilateral since Donald Trump became president. Although the three sides reaffirmed their ‘unshakable’ partnership in their joint statement, the new Trump administration’s approach throws doubt on this other important US partnership.  

The Japan–South Korea–US trilateral matters for strategic reasons. It allows the US and its Indo-Pacific partners to discuss regional challenges, jointly develop responses to provocations and signal cohesion. 

There is scope to build stronger deterrence capabilities and enhance collective defence integration against rising threats from China, North Korea and Russia. Developing such minilateral cooperation requires quiet, painstaking and consistent diplomacy.

Yet Trump’s diplomacy and outlook consider such alliances as sources of potential short-term gain, not long-term strategic value. And his administration lacks the diplomatic heft and political will to continue the engagement that has so far benefited the Japan–South Korea–US trilateral. 

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.