As the Trump administration completes one year, major geopolitical developments across the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America have increasingly shaped Washington’s foreign policy agenda. At the same time, US–China relations have continued to influence broader strategic calculations, often overshadowing the United States’ regional approach to the Indo-Pacific. This has raised questions about whether the Indo-Pacific, once central to strategic discourse, is witnessing a relative decline in priority.
Regional stakeholders—including small, middle, and emerging powers—have responded cautiously and pragmatically to these shifts. As great-power competition evolves and strategic attention appears to diversify, a new regional balance may be taking shape. Southeast Asian states are reassessing their strategic space, while countries such as Australia, South Korea, Japan, and India are adapting their policies to emerging realities.
Against this backdrop, this roundtable will examine the trajectory of US foreign policy toward the Indo-Pacific and its allies and partners under Trump’s second administration. How has US foreign policy toward the Indo-Pacific evolved under Trump’s second administration? How have regional countries adjusted to shifting great-power dynamics? How does China perceive the responses of the United States and its allies and partners? Are Indo-Pacific states seeking a new strategic equilibrium amid intensifying competition?
