‘Trump’s policy embodies nativism and economic nationalism’

Islamabad:Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, has said that Donald Trump’s policy features nativism and economic nationalism meaning that the United States shall not be interventionist any more, though, the country shall be increasingly protectionist and adopt policies that put greater onus on US allies.

Dr Pongsudhirak was speaking an event on “Southeast Asia/ASEAN between the US and China: dynamics and prospects” organised here by Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series.

Dr Pongsudhirak said that the world is in transition. This has been even more pronounced since the inauguration of the second term of President Trump. Regarding China, he noted that the country is on a trajectory of “manifest resurgence” due to its historical role in the world and its ongoing geostrategic projects like the Belt and Road Initiative. The so-called “new Cold War” is merely a continuity of the Cold War with the difference being economic altercation, he noted. The pressing question is how long a geo-economic conflict can last until it transforms into confrontation and hostility.

Regarding ASEAN, he noted that the accentuating major-power competition led to the organisation losing its centrality. The group has been divided on a number of issues including democratisation in Myanmar, conflict in Ukraine and situation in Gaza. These developments will lead to resurgence of Southeast Asia as a region that is not denoted merely by cooperation among ASEAN members. For Southeast Asia and ASEAN, the US-China relationship has been most consequential in the recent years he observed.

Earlier, Sohail Mahmood, DG, ISSI, noted that Pakistan-Thailand relations evolved over decades and embraced myriad sectors such as trade, investment, education, S&T, culture and tourism. Both countries are also bound together by civilisational linkage tracing back to the ancient Buddhist Gandhara heritage of Pakistan. Khalid Mahmood, Chairperson, BoG, and Dr Talat Shabbir, Director, ISSI, also addressed the gathering.