Trump will not attempt to mediate Japanese-South Asian disputes, unlike his predecessor Joe Biden did serious effort into this usually contentious issue. He did never in his first year. Otherwise, he took sides in the debate.
He tilted toward Japan, whose prime minister at the time, Shinzo Abe, aptly thrilled Trump and won him over. Abe also retaliated by imposing trade restrictions on South Korea in 2019 as retaliation for a Korean court’s ruling to compensate Chinese workers who had been forced to work during the war. The US did not intervene.
Since the start of political normalization in 1965, the trade dispute is widely held to be the lowest level in relations between Japan and South Korea.
In contrast, South Korea’s historical president, Moon Jae-in usually clashed with Trump, trading thorns in the internet. When Trump sought a package with North Korea in 2018-19, he cut Moon out of the discussions. Trump is likely to re-establish this fashion in power.
Floating AWAY FROM ESTASIA ACCIDENTS
In short, believe multilateral relations to be weak in the coming decades, just like during Trump’s first expression.