Presidential Visits as Foreign Policy Instruments: U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy in Trump’s Second Term

Htet, Atar Thaung

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies
Vol. 9, No. 2

Through an analysis of President Donald Trump's October 2025 travel to Asia, this study investigates the consequences of U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy under his second-term diplomacy. The paper examines three significant diplomatic encounters—the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, bilateral meetings in Japan, and the APEC Summit in South Korea—using a qualitative case study methodology based on role theory and foreign policy analysis. The results show that alliance-centered security cooperation, strategic balancing toward China, and selective economic engagement were U.S. Indo-Pacific goals. Through extremely transactional and bilateralized relations, presidential diplomacy allowed the United States to fulfill a number of foreign policy responsibilities, such as economic negotiator, security supplier, and strategic balancer. The study also shows that regional reactions differed among East Asian and ASEAN nations, suggesting economic security alignment, alliance strengthening, and hedging tactics. By demonstrating how leader-driven diplomacy influences regional order despite escalating major power competition, this study empirically adds to the literature on Indo-Pacific and international relations.