Donald Trump's "isolationist" foreign policy pronouncements are feeding insecurity in some Asian nations fearful of China's growing power, and risk emboldening nationalists and authoritarians in the region.
The real estate developer, who is very close to securing the Republican nomination for November's presidential election, has with undiplomatic abandon challenged much of the status quo in U.S.-Asia relations. Overall, his comments have sounded like a death knell for the "pivot to Asia" strategy adopted by President Barack Obama five years ago.
Trump has said U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more toward their defense, warned he could withdraw U.S. troops from bases in Japan, and mulled whether Japan and South Korea should have their own nuclear arms. This week he said he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would represent a major shift in U.S. policy.