US Defense Secretary Resigns, Asia-Pacific Allies Worried

US President Donald Trump has deep disagreements with Defense Secretary James Mattis. Photo: AP

Speaking to The Australian newspaper, Australian Senator Jim Molan said Mr. Mattis is considered one of the "adults" in the administration of US President Donald Trump.

According to this congressman, Mr. Mattis' withdrawal is worrying because it creates a "new extreme variable" in US policy making.

Meanwhile, security and foreign policy analyst Euan Graham of Australia's La Trobe University commented: "He (Mattis) is the 'gatekeeper' in the US administration that they rely on him largely to soften the impact of the instinctive behaviour of President Trump, who is, I think, more isolationist and clearly very skeptical... about alliance commitments."

According to defense analyst Adam Mount of the Federation of American Scientists, Mr. Mattis is steadfast on North Korea and has a very important role in preventing war from happening.

Analysts made the above comments after US President Donald Trump announced on December 20 that US Secretary of Defense James Mattis would resign at the end of February 2019.

In his resignation letter, Secretary Mattis said he was leaving his post so that President Trump could have a Pentagon chief whose views were more in line with his own. Mr. Mattis also said that the US must have a clearer policy towards hostile countries and maintain strong alliances.

Observers said that Mr. Mattis' resignation was predictable, after President Trump announced that he would withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan despite opposition from top US military officials as well as Washington's allies.

President Trump said he will soon nominate a successor to Secretary Mattis./.