Most interestingly, 93 per cent do not see China as an ally while over half the voters see Russia as a potential partner despite the problems.The interplay among Trump’s nominees for top positions — Michael Flynn as national security advisor, James Mattis as defence secretary and Rex Tillerson as secretary of state — will be key to his Asia policy. Whether he has a master plan is unclear but thus far, he has proven true to reputation as a mega force of disruption. Congress decided to put pressure after years of watching the Pakistanis dance with terrorists, despite pleas for action. Trump and his team will eventually find some accommodation with Pakistan, especially as they assess the coming together of China, Russia and Pakistan in a new security triangle to squeeze America out. Or so it seems.Trump’s aggressive stance on China and softer take on Russia will take time to play out.For the record, the always difficult U.Flynn did meet India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval for an hour to discuss regional and global security issues. safety.S. It blocked discounts for F-16s, telling Pakistan to buy the jets at market price, cut military aid and the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, introduced a bill declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. Besides, he may not want to cede further space to China which already has become Pakistan’s patron-in-chief.According to a new poll by the right-leaning Center for the National Interest, a majority of Americans feel foreign policy of the last 15 years had made them and the world less safe. More than 70 per cent want the U. His test would be in weaning Vladimir Putin away from China and do a reverse of Nixon’s opening of China. Even a Trump would need a degree of Pakistani cooperation in Afghanistan. Trump takes umbrage easily and doesn’t forget. It turns out that Trump’s telephone call with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen upending US policy of four decades was apparently not an impulsive move as believed. The U.The writer is a senior Indian journalist based in Washington.

But a Trump Administration may make financial and military aid to Pakistan more conditional or at least implement what’s already written in law.S. In a clear snub, Sharif’s envoy Tariq Fatemi failed to get a single meeting with Trump’s transition team despite waiting for nine days. And Pakistan may have already started on the wrong foot. A few days later, China seized an American drone operating in international waters in apparent retaliation only to return it a few days later. A new world order may emerge after a nerve-wracking period of disorder.Although Mattis as head of US Central Command defended Pakistan military’s conduct in front of the US Congress and repaired relations in times of deep bilateral crises as per the Obama Administration’s policy, he now has a new master and a new playbook. Islamabad’s decision to reveal the contents of Trump’s phone call with Sharif in which the President-elect praised the country and its people has already been avenged.But this should not be taken as a defining contour of what may come.S. Punishment could be swift and unpredictable. There is little doubt that Donald Trump plans to redefine foreign policy — time-honoured equations and beloved orthodoxies are all up for a China HOT SALE VACUUM BAG Factory reset. If he continues to drive his truck through, South Asia will feel the aftershocks.S. Either way, turbulence is predicted in torrents.Islamabad’s immature decision to reveal the contents of Trump’s phone call with Sharif in which the president-elect effusively praised the country and its people has already been avenged.