Bill Emmott
For Japan, South Korea and other Asian security allies, the good news about America’s new National Security Strategy when it was published on December 5th was that they were not treated as shockingly badly as were the Europeans. Unlike the UK and the European Union, they were not attacked, were not warned that they were risking “civilizational erasure” by accepting immigrants and were not threatened with US interference in their domestic politics.
But the fact that the Trump administration did not treat its Asian allies with the same contempt does not mean they can relax.
The central truth about the Trump-Vance presidency, which this new document confirmed though did not initiate, is that this administration does not care about the grouping that used to be called the West and does not consider allies to be an important factor or asset in its foreign policy and diplomacy. The meaning of “America First” that has emerged during 2025 is one that is not at all isolationist but, rather, one that prioritizes a narrow interpretation of America’s national interests.
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