With its “peace through power” method, which the new Trump administration has a muscular launch, the organization has previously impressed senior allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India’s S. Jaishankar met briefly days into his new position to highlight the importance of Asia in Trump’s international plan.
In a phone conversation with Rubio’s rival in the Philippines, Rubio reiterated America’s “ironclad” responsibility to protect its South Asian mutual defense treaty alliance in the event of an armed conflict with China in the South China Sea.
In addition, Gilbert Teodoro Jr, the fresh US National Security Advisor, and Mike Waltz, the Philippine Defense Secretary, spoke privately to confirm the “enduring empire between the Philippines and the United States.”  ,
Just days into company, the new Trump administration also convened the latest generation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the” Quad”, which brought together top officials from Australia, Japan, India and the US.
In a shared speech, Rubio and his Triple rivals underscored their” shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, political principles, independence, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended”.
The Quad ministers  made it clear in a lightly veiled criticism of reactionary forces, most importantly China, that they” strongly resist any coercive behavior that seek to change the status quo by force or force.”
In contrast, President Trump’s second term saw a more logical approach by firing and criticizing Iran’s hawks and appointing pragmatists like Michael DiMino as the new top Middle East official for the Pentagon.
New important appointments will reinforce the message of so-called “prioritizers” led by Elbridge Colby, a candidate for under-secretary of security for policy who has emphasized the need for a more China-focused US foreign policy, in conjunction with Trump’s call for ending the “ridiculous war” in Ukraine and growing pressure on Western allies to make their own defense burdens.
The second Trump administration appears to be double down on its defense alliance and deterrence strategy in the Indo-Pacific by shifting America’s strategic focus from its old theaters in Europe and the Middle East.
Trump’s inauguration speech put his commitment to ending world wars to the test by setting the tone for his foreign policy. ” It will be my most cherished legacy to be one who makes peace and unites people.” That’s what I want to be – a peacemaker and a unifier”, he declared, directly taking credit for the newly implemented ceasefire in Gaza, which was largely negotiated by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
” We will build the strongest military the world has ever seen, just like in 2017,” he added. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into”, he added, echoing his administration’s “peace through strength” mantra.
Trump has signaled a more pragmatic approach to adversaries, most notably Iran. He fired former Iranian envoy Brian Hook, who opposed a “maximum pressure” campaign against the Middle Eastern power that oversaw the Department of State’s most recent transition, just hours into his second term.  ,
Meanwhile, Trump also publicly attacked his former national security adviser, John Bolton, as a “warmonger” who oversaw disastrous interventions in the Middle East. Both Bolton and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, both of whom had pushed for confrontation with Iran, were removed from their security profiles.
Trump’s Middle East strategy will therefore be influenced by more pragmatic voices. Following his successful negotiation of the Gaza ceasefire, Witkoff has been appointed as Trump’s new Iran envoy.
” He’s certainly , someone I would use. He has done a fantastic job. . . Trump praised his new Iran envoy and prospects for a new nuclear deal with Iran, saying that Steve has a wonderful way of him. ” It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step]of military confrontation ] …Iran, hopefully, will make a deal”.
The Pentagon’s new Middle East top official Michael DiMino, who is known for his more critical stance on Israel and support for a more “offshore balancing” strategy in the Middle East, will complement Witkoff’s regional diplomacy.
” There are no vital or existential U. S. interests in the]Middle East ] region”, DiMino , argued last year in a webinar, underscoring the need for a major reorientation in American foreign policy. He continued,” We’re really there to fight Iran, and that’s really at the behest of the Israelis and the Saudis,” instead of advocating for a more limited American military presence in an increasingly multipolar region.
That viewpoint tracks with the Pentagon’s incoming top policy official, Elbridge Colby, an influential strategic thinker who oversaw the formulation of the first Trump administration’s National Security Strategy.
In a major conference last October, Colby argued that we must give the potential for conflict with China a priori in order to avoid it. ” It is empirically true that China is getting ready for war, and we do have the potential for a multi-front war and a World War III in the upcoming years, and we’re not prepared.”
Similar to DiMino, Colby has also drawn on his own bitter experience in dealing with the Middle East, particularly when he was a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003 and of the President’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission between 2004 and 2005 while serving under the George W. Bush administration.  ,
Trump’s other top cabinet members have also expressed openness to a less confrontational policy in the Middle East in favor of focusing on the broader Indo-Pacific region, particularly China, while adopting more traditionally hawkish views on Iran.
Rubio made it clear during his confirmation hearing that he would support “any arrangement that allows us to have safety and stability in the region but one in which we’re clear-eyed” about threats posed by adversaries like Iran. The more pragmatic tone on Iran, coupled with a concerted push to end the conflict in Ukraine, underscores China’s centrality to the second Trump administration’s grand strategy.
Rubio has characterized China , as” the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted”, thus the urgency of doubling down the Quad and existing military alliances in the Indo-Pacific. National Security Adviser Waltz, who is also known as an Iran hawk, has also emphasized the need for America to “quickly wind up the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to free up military assets to confront and deter China.”
Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hagseth, who, similar to Waltz, also served in America’s wars in the Middle East, has argued along similar lines and has criticized the outgoing Biden administration for not sufficiently decoupling from conflicts in the Middle East in favor of a China-centered strategy.
By and large, America’s top Asian allies seem optimistic about the second Trump administration’s signaled direction. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong referred to bilateral ties with Washington as “our most important strategic relationship” prior to her meeting with Rubio.
On the eve of the first Quad meeting, just hours into the new administration, she said,” It’s a demonstration of the collective commitment of all countries to the Quad, an ironclad commitment in this time when close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific is so important.”
Japan’s top diplomat was even more effusive about the new administration’s nuanced approach to foreign policy and sound pragmatism.
” I was very impressed that]Rubio’s ] explanation of the Quad didn’t mention China by name and antagonize it. I had thought of him as a hard-liner against China, but as we talked, I found he was a well-balanced individual”, Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya , said after the Quad meeting this week.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Rich Heydarian