No shame in the art of the fawn – Asia's way with Trump and China

Asia charmed the superpowers by trading gifts, flattery and deals to blunt tariffs and avoid blows. But this cannot be the long-term strategy.

- Bhavan Jaipragas Deputy Opinion Editor

In one telling, the outcome of US President Donald Trump’s recent Asia swing does not deserve the “win-win” tag it has widely been getting. In this view, the seeming goodwill - after all the gifting, gold-dessert offering, and other acts of obeisance — in fact masks a loss for the region.

At the Oct 31 Asean Roundtable organised by the ISEAS — Yusof Ishak Institute, Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak wondered if the likes of Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand would soon suffer “buyer’s remorse” once the initial euphoria of the trade deals they inked with Washington wears off. It is a brutal but not inaccurate reading, going by what learned observers say as they parse the fine print.

That said, there is room to be far more charitable, because this downbeat view focuses almost entirely on the deals - which, by the way, are not mutually initiated free trade agreements but one-sided pacts meant to lower Washington’s unilateral “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Looked at in totality - and, more importantly, against the severe anxiety Asia as a whole felt about the return of Mr Trump exactly this week, a year ago — it is not all that bad that he made these visits, turned up for the summitry, and gamely appreciated the air bomber jacket, the gold-leaf golf ball and the gold dessert rolled out for him.

While big-name commentators were suggesting he would have no time for Asean, here he was in the room, even if he did not stay for the whole thing.

We should not give all the credit for this to the seeming magnanimity of Mr Trump.

Little appreciated is how, taken as a composite, the region bent over backwards to stay in Washington’s good graces and keep the US President engaged in its interests - and did so while making it seem effortless when surely it was not.