Washington’s mixed signals worrying to allies in Asia

Leaders concerned about Trump’s erratic diplomacy, that he won’t challenge China

BEIJING— South Korea wants to discuss unease about a U.S. anti-missile system on its soil. Taiwan is eager to buy weapons. The Philippines hopes to find out whether the United States plans to challenge China in the South China Sea.

Leaders across Asia are looking to Washington for guidance on a variety of pressing diplomatic issues.

But U.S. President Donald Trump’s erratic approach to policy-making and his focus on one issue — North Korea’s nuclear weapons program — are creating anxiety and confusion in the region.

In South Korea, Trump has angered the public with several remarks, including his suggestion that the country, an ally for more than six decades, pay for an anti-missile system built by the U.S. to deter North Korea. Moon Jae-in, who was elected president on Tuesday, has vowed to seek a more conciliatory approach with the North, setting up a potential rift with U.S. policy.

In other parts of Asia, including the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, Trump’s willingness to bend to China is fuelling worries that the U.S. will stop trying to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Washington has been the main critic of China’s efforts to build fortresses atop reefs, rocks and islands in the South China Sea.

But the Trump administration, apparently wary of angering Beijing, recently decided to suspend patrols of islands and reefs claimed by China.

“The South China Sea is now China’s lake,” said Carlyle A. Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Trump’s credibility among Asian allies is now at stake, diplomats and analysts say.

He may jeopardize longtime economic and security alliances if he does not show a willingness to look beyond North Korea, they say.

The U.S. president also risks pushing countries in the region closer to Beijing if he does not demonstrate that the U.S. intends to vigorously challenge China’s territorial claims.

Trump’s supporters say his unpredictable style and willingness to rethink decades of accepted policy may be an asset, especially in dealing with an intractable leader like Kim Jong Un of North Korea. But his lack of assurances to Asian allies and his efforts to please China have created the appearance that his foreign policy is negotiable.

In Taiwan, officials worry that the Trump administration may delay arms sales, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, for fear of inflaming tensions with China. China considers Taiwan part of is territory, and it has repeatedly warned the United States against selling weapons to the island.

Trump has said the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons development is so grave that it may require temporarily setting aside contentious issues with China.