Allies and partners of the US have expressed dismay about the strategic consequences of President Donald Trump’s “America First” rhetoric, with predictions of a US retreat from leadership in Asia taking centre stage at an annual security forum this weekend.
James Mattis, US defence secretary, insisted the US would continue to expand its engagement in the Pacific — where 60 per cent of US Navy ships and a slim majority of US Army forces are deployed — “to secure a peaceful, prosperous and free Asia”.
As Mr Mattis addressed the forum, two US aircraft carriers were taking part in exercises with Japan’s navy and air forces in the Sea of Japan, the first time two US warships of that scale have operated jointly off the Korean peninsula since the 1990s.