Diplomats axed: Inside the overhaul reshaping Trump's foreign policy

Asean engagement at risk as mass layoffs rattle America's diplomatic corps

- Bhagyashree Garekar

A bout of mass layoffs has shaken up America's diplomatic corps and threatens to unravel the Trump administration's claim that Asean is important to the United States.

The office responsible for managing US-Asean engagement was shuttered on July 11 as part of what the Department of State is calling a "historic" reorganization.

All the staffers in the small multilateral affairs office, operating under the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, were let go as part of the sweeping downsizing exercise in which more than 1,300 staffers were dismissed.

More retrenchments are likely to follow in the coming months, possibly in overseas posts, say observers.

It has prompted some Democrats in Congress to consider tabling a Bill seeking legal protection for offices in the State Department, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Prominent South-east Asia experts in the US, who understand how much presence matters in Asean, say the sudden departure of talent, expertise and connections is bound to hurt.

However, the administration is determined to pursue a "reduction-in-force" to trim a bureaucracy it sees as bloated, complex and ideologically driven.

A more efficient and agile State Department will help the United States become better postured to address threats around the world, a senior State Department official told The Sunday Times.

"The reorganization has streamlined decision-making and has reduced redundancies without compromising core capabilities," the official said.

But irritation also showed at the relentless criticism that has greeted the State Department's plans, first announced in April but paused by an injunction that was lifted by the Supreme Court on July 8.

"Any assertions otherwise are baseless political attacks meant to detract from a successful and historic reorganisation," the official added.