In a phone call Feb. 9, U.S. President Donald Trump assured his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that the United States remains committed to the "one-China" policy, which lies at the foundation of bilateral relations. Also earlier this month, Trump pledged his "100 percent" support for the decades-old defensive alliance with Japan during a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Days earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis had stressed Washington's abiding interest in a "rules-based international order," including strong U.S. alliances in Asia, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and protections for the rights and autonomy of China's smaller neighbors. He downplayed the need for "dramatic military moves" over disputed islands in the region, saying the problem was "best solved by the diplomats."
These statements are reassuring departures from past remarks by the Trump team, which seemed to drop traditional U.S. policies in favor of a more pugnacious, unilateralist and nationalist approach. Inconsistency should be applauded when the change is from bad to good. Unfortunately, there are still two major reasons to be concerned about the emerging Trump policy in Asia: First, the administration has offered no sign that it will make democracy and human rights significant components of its foreign policy, either globally or in China's region. Second, while it was right to set aside reckless and bellicose confrontation, the administration's newly conciliatory tone risks neglecting the need to counter Beijing's increasingly harmful behavior.