With new U.S. President Joe Biden, Washington’s Asian allies have a friendlier and more engaged partner in the Oval Office after four tumultuous years of “America First” under Donald Trump that left alliances crippled and neglected.

But the former U.S. vice president returns to a changed landscape both in Asia and at home after four years out of the White House.

Biden took the oath of office in Washington on Wednesday, vowing in a speech to bridge a divide in the U.S. that has threatened not only the country itself, but the bedrock principles upon which other democracies also rest.