Under Trump, is the US no longer interested in playing maritime referee?
The conspicuous absence of the annual report for the US fiscal year 2024, still unpublished as of August 10, is a telling indicator of the seemingly shifting strategic priorities under US President Donald Trump's second term. Its notable delay, combined with the absence of confirmed reports of South China Sea freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) since Trump's return to the White House, points to a significant recalibration of US maritime policy.
I believe the lack of the annual FONOP report reflects at least three interconnected developments: the Trump administration's overwhelming focus on pressing geopolitical crises in global flashpoints at the expense of long-term maritime strategy, the disruptive effects of domestic budget cuts to
diplomatic institutions and a strategic reluctance to strain already fragile alliances further.
Together, these factors suggest a deliberate, if unacknowledged, retreat from the US' traditional role as the primary enforcer of the so-called rules-based international maritime order, particularly in the South China Sea. Since taking office for a second term in January this year, Trump has been preoccupied by high-stakes geopolitical challenges, leaving little room for sustained engagement in the South China Sea.
Indeed, Trump's major attention has been dominated by attempts
to mediate a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, manage the consequences of what some have called his 'economic nuclear war' and control the volatile
Israel-Hamas conflict as well as counter Iran. Portrayed as a broker of peace, Trump seems to have enjoyed his new role over the past six months.
Historical records of the US' FONOPs also underscore this strategic shift. During Trump's first term, the US Navy conducted an average of seven FONOPs a year that targeted China, challenging China's 'excessive maritime claims', totalling at least 27 operations from May 2017 to December 2020. By contrast, the first six months of his second term have witnessed zero confirmed reports of FONOPs in the South China Sea.
This inactivity coincides with the delay of the annual report for fiscal year 2024, which now exceeds even the Covid-19 related postponement of the release of the annual report for fiscal year 2019 in July 2020. This leads to an unmistakable assertion that maritime issues have fallen sharply on Trump's list of strategic priorities, at least in the South China Sea.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
US annual review of China's human rights record is shorter but remains sharply critical
The US State Department's annual review of China's human rights record, released on Tuesday, was pared back as part of a broader restructuring of its country reports but still retained many of its most politically sensitive criticisms of Beijing's conduct. Advertisement 'Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year in China against predominantly Muslim Uygurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,' the report said in its executive summary. The China assessment, an extensive catalogue of Beijing's alleged violations in the previous calendar year, is part of a package of department reports reviewing some 200 countries and territories based on standards enshrined in international human rights agreements. Its release comes after a months-long delay amid controversy that the reports would substantially scale back long-standing critiques of certain forms of abuses or display bias against perceived US foes. In recent years, the reports have been released in the spring, accompanied by a launch event led by the Secretary of State. This year – the first release under the second Donald Trump administration – no such event was held. Advertisement Intended to inform congressional decisions on foreign aid allocations and security assistance, the reports include some of the most comprehensive human rights reviews compiled by any single body in the world. They are also widely used in both US and international courts, particularly during asylum hearings.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Tibet mega dam is China's chance to build confidence with India
China's mega dam construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River uncovers the vulnerabilities of transboundary water mechanisms. With India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and being in the process of reconsidering the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with Bangladesh, water politics is getting more complicated day by day. This turn of events has cast doubt on the future of regional cooperation in South Asia. Even though the mega dam is China's most ambitious hydropower project and a symbol of clean energy and climate resilience, the project has stirred anxious discussions in downstream countries such as India and Bangladesh. This dam has been hailed as the project of the century and also as a milestone for both technology and the environment. Reports estimate that the dam will produce more than 300 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually. Meanwhile, it seeks to help China achieve its long-term goal of becoming carbon neutral. It would also add to China's goal of developing its border areas because of its location on the remote Tibetan Plateau. Besides job creation and industrial migration, this project can bring considerable growth, leading to the expansion of the Chinese economy. At the same time, downstream states such as Bangladesh and India are concerned about the massive project's design and its possible effects. While the project is steered towards renewable energy and sustainable development, it will also have a geopolitical impact. This gives the dam the perception of dual influence as it is a stepping stone to development that also has strategic consequences, reflecting the complex narratives shaping South Asia's water politics in the modern geopolitical landscape. South Asia is already experiencing a crisis with its transboundary water-sharing architecture, so the timing of the dam's construction is crucial.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US and Chinese trade teams to meet in 2 to 3 months, Trump's Treasury chief says
US trade officials will meet again with their Chinese counterparts within the next two or three months to discuss the future of the economic relationship between the two countries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday, a day after the Trump administration extended a pause on sharply higher US tariffs on Chinese imports for another 90 days. In an interview on Fox Business Network's Kudlow, Bessent said the US will need to see 'months, if not quarters, if not a year' of progress on fentanyl flows before it considers reducing tariffs on China. The Treasury chief also said that increasing revenues flowing into US government coffers from tariffs would make it difficult for the Supreme Court to rule against the Trump administration on the issue if a lower court case makes its way to country's top court. 'The more money coming in, it gets harder and harder for SCOTUS to rule against us,' Bessent said in response to a question about a case currently in front of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington that challenges the legality of what Trump calls 'reciprocal' tariffs as well as a separate set of tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico. Play He added that several large trade agreements were still waiting to be completed, including with Switzerland and India, but the South Asian country had been 'a bit recalcitrant' in talks with the United States.
