Speaking on March 13 in Singapore, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's appeal for the United States to become more engaged in Asia as the "indispensable strategic power in the Indo-Pacific" was prescient given the challenges that the region presents to Washington and its allies. Bishop's remarks serve as an important call to action for an increasingly inward-looking U.S.

The isolationist bent of the new administration is particularly ill-timed given Asia's looming security challenges. Disagreements involving Beijing's assertions of sovereignty over the South China Sea and its unilateral imposition of the East China Sea air defense identification zone, tensions over cyber espionage, geopolitic, human rights and the recent installation of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea are just some of the security issues facing the region.

Adding to the tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump earlier challenged (then wisely walked back) the "one-China" policy while accusing Beijing of inventing global warming as a hoax and of being a currency manipulator who trades unfairly. China, for its part, has criticized U.S. interference in other countries' internal affairs and has denounced the U.S. for militarizing the South China Sea and for trying to contain China, impeding its rise.