Despite the uncertainty, reaction from Asian leaders so far has been mostly restrained, as they wait to see whether President Trump will follow through on his campaign promises or dial back his rhetoric.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is set to meet with Trump in Washington next week, is looking at Trump “not with negative emotion such as anger and fear, but with tremendous curiosity,” according to a senior Japan administration official in Tokyo.

“Shinzo Abe is not paying so much attention to what the POTUS [president of the U.S.] says. Verbal assault is one thing, whether tangible deeds follow is quite another, and it is too early to come to any sort of judgment,” the official said.

‘Bump’ in the road?

It’s still unclear how Trump’s dispute with Turnbull will affect U.S. ties with Australia. But it isn’t likely to do long-term damage, says James Schoff, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, who points out that the two allies cooperate on a range of issues from maritime security to global counterterrorism efforts.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
“This could end up being a tiny bump in the road. I mean, I’m not aware of any kind of long-held resentment Trump has against Australia,” Schoff says. “But I worry that over time if this continues it will seriously undermine our alliance relationships in Asia.”

Though the phone call could soon be forgotten or dismissed as a mistake by a new administration that does not yet have all its senior cabinet positions filled it could also have long-lasting effects, Schoff says.

“But I think the White House is going to discover that in foreign policy, resentments and memories are very long-lasting,” he says. “It takes a long time to build up trust and good will, and it’s relatively easy to tear down.”

VOA’s Steve Herman contributed to this report.

Source: VOA

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