Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump’s Offensive trade and immigration policies undermine relations, which are the basis of American foreign policy to counter China’s growing influence, and erode years of diplomatic investment across administrations.
The latest fractures came hundreds of times on Friday Korean workers He was detained at the Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia. This facility was a showcase of close economic ties between the two countries. Some of the workers being investigated on visa issues were tied up.
The administrative authorities claim that Trade is not affectedhowever, foreign policy analysts have seen their relationship worsen with alarms. Instead of following the traditional wisdom of building a coalition as a breakwater against China, Trump enjoys turning screws likewise for friends and enemies.
“The treaty allies are developing fallback options if the US leaves the region,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, studying US strategy in Asia. “Some partners are hedging by fostering better relationships with China.”
The relationship with India is also being cooled Despite the previous sincere friendship between Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump imposed tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, and he grew closer to his border rival Pakistan.
Modi was recently filmed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Trump to jabs on social media during a security summit in Tianjin.
“We seem to have lost India and Russia to the deepest and darkest China,” he wrote. “May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
It could blow up recent spats. For example, Trump recently said, “I’ll always be friends with Modi,” and Modi said their country has a “very positive” relationship.
However, concerns between Asian countries may not be temporary. Especially when there is a sense that Trump’s skepticism about foreign involvement will remain after he no longer takes office.
“Most countries in the region believe that Washington’s protectionist policies, unilateral trends and greater skepticism of overseas involvement will last longer than the Trump administration,” Cooper said.
Trump has occasionally spoke harshly about China, putting the trade war between the world’s first and second economy at risk by announcing sudden tariffs. But both sides have retreated from that conflict, and Trump has focused on seeking a summit with XI.
After a meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the summer, the State Department said that both sides “agree to explore the realm of potential cooperation while trying to manage the differences.”
The tension between Trump and Modi was particularly surprising given their intimacy during Trump’s first term. but, Modi refused to indulge Pakistan has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize he longs for, but he has sought to advocate for brokering the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Furthermore, India is caught up in a crossfire of Trump’s efforts to resolve Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To put indirect pressure on Moscow, Trump increased Indian tariffs to buy Russian oil during the war.
Eric Garcetti, who served as US ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, said years of diplomacy would not be reversed, but “a lot of damage can happen,” and he warned that if India and the US were not on the same page it would be a “very lonely world.”
“This is one of the most important relationships for our success and the world,” he said.
Rick Rosso, a senior advisor at Washington-based think tank centre for strategic international research, focusing on India and emerging Asian economics, said that US-India relations are “low points,” but that “the moments like that always make them feel more important than they really are.”
However, tensions could put Trump’s planned visit to India at risk, in order to attend the summit, which includes Japanese and Australian leaders. The strategic group known as the Quad is seen as a mechanism to counter Beijing’s military and political influence in the region.
The attack on the Hyundai facility stands out as a very public exhibit of the willingness to implement the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policy, even if it brings a sense of anger and betrayal in South Korea within two weeks of the White House meeting with Trump and South Korean President Lee Jaemune.
Bong Youngsik, a professor at Yongsay University in Seoul, said, “The damage has already been done as anti-American sentiment is clearly increasing,” citing the public shocks in South Korea by US authorities showing boredom and robbed and taken away.
Trump urged Seoul to expand its US industrial investment, but there was no visa system to support skilled workers enough to establish new manufacturing facilities.
“There is growing awareness among Koreans that the US is engaged in bullying behavior not only about the incident but also on its aggressive driving forces to increase tariffs,” Bonn said. “There’s a broad sense that things are going too far.”
Bong said the issue remains a “time bomb” and “it will be extremely difficult for Korean companies to send employees to the US.”
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Kim reported from Seoul.
