The Iran war’s ripple effects risk obscuring festering divisions within the Southeast Asian bloc—most notably its inability to develop a region-wide approach to Washington and Beijing.
"There are not a lot of things that Trump holds dear as sort of core principles [aside from] the tariffs, a real disdain for US allies, and a respect for strength," Craig Kafura says.
The U.S. has maintained a delicate balance between not officially recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation and arming the island to fend off any Chinese aggression.
