The pivot to Asia remains central to US policy

Political Counselor of the US Embassy in Australia, Mr. John Hennessey-Niland, said on January 30 at a discussion on US-Japan-Australia strategic relations held in Canberra that although US President Donald Trump will have a new foreign policy, the country will continue to maintain an important role in the Asia-Pacific to ensure the interests of the US as well as those of its allies.

In his speech, Mr. Hennessey-Niland said that policies may change but the interests of the US and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region will not change, promising increased joint exercises and information sharing.

During his election campaign, President Trump said that Asian countries must protect their own national security instead of relying on US help, and also criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an outdated organization.

However, when welcoming British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on January 27, President Trump said he supported NATO 100%. Based on that event, Ms. Amy Searights, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for South Asia and Southeast Asia of the Barack Obama Administration, said that we should not pay too much attention to what President Trump said during the election campaign, as evidenced by the fact that in February, the new US President will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the strategic alliance.

Ms. Amy Searights also reiterated the importance of the strategic relationship between the US with Japan and Australia in the Asia pivot strategy implemented by former President Obama, calling it a strategy that is still useful to prevent China's military expansion.

According to Ms. Searight, President Trump plans to help the US Navy increase the number of warships from 270 to 350, which means the US will put more warships into operation in the Pacific region and in the East Sea./.

According to Vietnamplus