Asia must unite to survive Trump 2.0

US President Donald Trump has raised the spectre of economic and geopolitical turmoil in Asia.

- Lee Jong-Wha

While individual countries have few options for pushing back against Mr Trump's transactional diplomacy, protectionist trade policies, and erratic decision-making, a unified region has a fighting chance.

The challenges are attributable. Mr Trump's crusade is having a devastating impact on Japan-Korea allies is casting serious doubt on the viability of America's decades-old security commitments, on which many Asian countries depend. Worse, America's treaty allies (Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines) and its strategic partner (Taiwan) fear Mr Trump could actively undermine their security, such as by offering concessions to China or North Korea.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump's aggressive efforts to reshape the global trading system, including in persuading foreign firms to move their manufacturing to the US, have disrupted world markets and generated considerable policy uncertainty. This threatens to undermine growth and financial stability in Asian economies, particularly those running large trade surpluses with the US -- such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the Asean countries.