US President Donald Trump is on a trip to several Asian countries, as he can now shift his focus from the Middle East to other regions.
The White House has long wanted to concentrate on issues in Asia, including a deal with China, and also working on peace in Southeast Asia.
It is significant for the Middle East, as the US is also transferring an aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean as tensions with Venezuela escalate. That will reduce the number of forces the US could deploy in the Middle East.
As long as the Gaza peace deal holds, the US should be able to focus on other issues, which is important for the White House and what may generally be termed the “Trump Doctrine.”
Trump wants to end wars, and the US has long wanted to shift its national security focus to deal with what are called “near-peer” rivals, such as China and Russia.
Trump steps back from Middle East, pivots to focusing on China
This is part of a decade-long attempt to reduce the US role in the Middle East. After the global war on terrorism led to the defeat of al-Qaeda and Islamic State, there is a sense that the US needs to wind down conflicts in the Middle East.
And now that the Iranian axis is also weakened, there is even less of a reason for the US to remain heavily involved. US partners, such as Israel and the Gulf states, have the resources to hold their own.
The Trump administration and US Central Command, however, are heavily invested in the Gaza deal. US commanders and an international force are preparing to deal with stabilizing Gaza.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the new Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat earlier this month for this reason.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the Gerald R. Ford to head toward South America, and recent airstrikes have hit suspected drug trafficking vessels in a major sign that Washington is laser-focused on South America.
The White House also considers the recent elections in Argentina as a win and confirmation that Trump’s global agenda is working.
The Gerald R. Ford’s strike group has five destroyers, according to reports. One of the destroyers is currently in the Arabian Sea, and another is in the Red Sea, the
Associated Press reported.
That means the US is reducing its naval assets in the region, even as the army component of US Central Command focuses on the Gaza peace deal.
Meanwhile, Trump was in Malaysia over the weekend, brokering the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords between Thailand and Cambodia, securing reciprocal trade deals with Malaysia and Cambodia, issuing joint trade statements with Thailand and Vietnam, elevating relations with Malaysia, and deepening US-Cambodia cooperation on defense and transnational crime. He also participated in the 13th annual US-ASEAN Summit meeting.
On Monday, Trump arrived in Japan, where he visited Emperor Naruhito at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, CNN reported. On Tuesday, he is expected to meet Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, the report said.
“In Malaysia, US-China trade negotiators reported major progress on a potential trade deal, easing tensions before Trump’s expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week,” CNN reported. “Trump said he is open to extending his trip to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though there are no known scheduled plans for talks.”
All this indicates how the Trump Doctrine is accomplishing several of its goals. It is continuing to focus on ending wars and bringing peace, and it is focused on China and trade deals.
It is also focused on a global agenda of supporting figures such as Argentinian President Javier Milei, whose success means the US will feel the wind is in its sails in South America. This comes despite US tensions with Colombia and Venezuela.
There are other signs of change in South America. President Daniel Noboa, from the Center-Right, is in charge in Ecuador, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele is also pro-US. In addition, centrist Rodrigo Paz recently won Bolivia’s presidential runoff.