President Trump unveils new US national security strategy
President Trump will announce a new national security strategy today. It will outline his administration’s foreign policy objectives around the world.
The last strategy document in 2015 reaffirmed America’s long-standing commitment to NATO and President Obama’s rebalancing to Asia in an effort to contain China—later actioned with the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiatives.
The Trump administration has signalled that China will be recognised as a “competitor in every realm” and accused of “economic aggression” as well as being a threat to US global hegemony.
However, Mr Trump has a history of limited actions to back up his muscular rhetoric. For example, Trump’s threats towards North Korea have now resulted in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying the US is ready for negotiations without preconditions. Trump has been less combative towards China than in his campaign rhetoric, leaning on Beijing heavily to pressure North Korea.
Expect a tough “America First” strategy document. However, the impact in foreign capitals will depend on how much emphasis they place on Trump’s words as opposed to his actions. If actions, they will take the document with a grain of salt.
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