WASHINGTON(National times)- President Donald Trump\u2019s aggressive trade and immigration policies are undermining relationships that have been cornerstones of American foreign policy to counter China\u2019s growing influence, eroding years of diplomatic investments spanning administrations. The latest fracture came Friday, when hundreds of South Korean workers were detained at a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia, a facility that had been a showcase for closer economic ties between the two countries. Some of the workers, who were being investigated for visa issues, were shackled. Administration officials insist that trade will not be impacted, but foreign policy analysts have watched deteriorating relationships with alarm. Instead of following the conventional wisdom of building coalitions as a bulwark against China, Trump has reveled in turning the screws on friend and foe alike. \u201cTreaty allies are developing fallback options if the United States disengages from the region,\u201d said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies U.S. strategy in Asia. \u201cSome partners are hedging by cultivating better relationships with China.\u201d Ties with India also have cooled despite a previously cordial friendship between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump, a Republican, imposed tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, and he\u2019s grown closer with Pakistan, a bordering rival. Modi was recently photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a security summit in Tianjin, prompting a social media jab from Trump.
\u201cLooks like we\u2019ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMay they have a long and prosperous future together!\u201d It\u2019s possible that recent spats could blow over. Trump called Modi \u201cmy very good friend\u201d when announcing trade talks between the two countries would continue in a Truth Social post. \u201cI feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries,\u201d he wrote. Modi responded by calling the two countries \u201cclose friends and natural partners\u201d and said he was \u201cconfident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership.\u201d But concerns among Asian nations may not be temporary, especially if there\u2019s a sense that Trump\u2019s skeptical view of foreign engagement will linger after he\u2019s no longer in office. \u201cMost countries in the region believe that Washington\u2019s protectionist policies, unilateral tendencies and greater skepticism of overseas engagement will outlast the Trump administration,\u201d Cooper said.n In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington said the country never engages \u201cin zero-sum games or geopolitical confrontations where one wins and the other loses\u201d but \u201cis committed to maintaining world peace, stability and development, sharing development opportunities with countries around the world.\u201d Trump has occasionally talked tough toward China, and he risked a trade war between the world\u2019s first and second largest economies by announcing steep tariffs. However, both sides have stepped back from that confrontation, and Trump has been focused on seeking a summit with Xi. After a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the summer, the State Department said both sides \u201cagreed to explore areas of potential cooperation, while seeking to manage differences.\u201d The tension between Trump and Modi has been particularly surprising given their closeness during Trump\u2019s first term. However, Modi has declined to indulge Trump\u2019s attempt to claim credit for brokering a recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, although Pakistan has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize that he covets. In addition, India has been caught in the crossfire of Trump\u2019s efforts to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In order to put indirect pressure on Moscow, Trump increased tariffs on India for buying Russian oil during the war. Eric Garcetti, who served as U.S. ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, said years of diplomacy won\u2019t be reversed but said \u201ca lot of damage can be done,\u201d and he warned that it would be a \u201cvery lonely world\u201d if India and U.S. are not on the same page. \u201cThis is one of the most critical relationships for our success and for the world,\u201d he said. Rick Rossow, a senior adviser focused on India and emerging Asia economics at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the U.S.-India relationship is at \u201ca low point\u201d but \u201csuch moments always feel like they are more significant than they actually are.\u201d However, tensions could jeopardize a planned visit by Trump to India to attend a summit that would also include leaders from Japan and Australia. The strategic grouping, known as the Quad, is viewed as a mechanism to counter Beijing\u2019s military and political influences in the region. The raid at the Hyundai facility stands out as a highly public display of the Trump administration\u2019s willingness to enforce its aggressive immigration policy, even if it also comes at an economic cost, sparking anger and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, less than two weeks after a White House meeting between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. \u201cDamage has already been done as anti-American sentiment is clearly on the rise,\u201d said Bong Youngshik, a professor at Seoul\u2019s Yonsei University, citing public shock in South Korea over the detentions and U.S. authorities releasing video showing the workers being chained and taken away. Trump has pushed Seoul to expand U.S. industrial investments, but without a visa system to support enough skilled workers to establish new manufacturing facilities. \u201cThere\u2019s a growing perception among South Koreans that the United States is engaging in bullying behavior, not only about this case but also with their aggressive push to increase tariffs,\u201d Bong said. \u201cThere\u2019s a widespread feeling that it is taking things too far.\u201d Bong said the issue would remain a \u201cticking time bomb\u201d and \u201cit will become extremely difficult for South Korean companies to send their employees to the United States.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National times)- President Donald Trump\u2019s aggressive trade and immigration policies are undermining relationships that have been cornerstones of American foreign policy to counter China\u2019s growing influence, eroding years of diplomatic investments spanning administrations. The latest fracture came Friday, when hundreds of South Korean workers were detained at a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia, a facility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n