[ad_1]
US foreign policy took a definite and robust turn under the Trump administration, as it moved away from the aggressive “combat boots on the ground” of previous administrations. It should be noted that during the Obama years, the US military participated in combat operations every day of those eight years.
President Donald J. Trump did not engage US forces in action, but he also reduced US military deployments abroad, particularly in the Middle East theater.
The foreign policy approach of US President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century was “to speak quietly and carry a big stick.” His idea was to negotiate peacefully, but also having strength in case things go wrong. Roosevelt described his foreign policy style as “the exercise of intelligent foresight and decisive action well in advance of any possible crisis.” The Obama administration has been characterized by “carrying a big stick only against smaller countries.”
In his campaign for the 2012 presidential election against Barack Obama, Republican candidate Mitt Romney said that he considered Russia the number one “geopolitical enemy” of the United States. Obama scoffed loudly at this as a throwback to the American mindset on Russia since the Cold War of the 1980s.
But both Obama and Trump saw Russia as a “European problem.” When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the United States’ response was futile economic sanctions. In 2015, Donald Trump said: “The United States should only intervene in Crimea if European countries ask for help and until then it remains ‘a problem of Europe.’ This is a problem for Europe much more than ours. And Europe doesn’t complain as much as we do ”.
However, there is a potentially huge gap between Trump and presumptive president-elect Joseph Biden Jr. over China. Biden was Obama’s vice president when China built its artificial islands and kicked the Philippines out of Panatag Shoal with barely a raised eyebrow.
In 2011, private citizen Trump said: “China is neither an ally nor a friend; they want to beat us and own our country.” And “Why do we continue to sit idly by while China steals our national security and corporate secrets? China is an enemy, not a friend. “
While talking tough during the recent campaign season, Biden has always had a more cooperative and conciliatory approach. In 2001 he strongly supported the granting of China’s Most Favored Nation trade status, believing that the grant would make China more accommodating. Last May, Biden said: “Is China going to have lunch? Come on, man … they’re not bad people, folks. But guess what: they are not a competition for us. “
What about US policy toward China as it pertains to the Philippines? China has also illegally claimed territory in the Pacific Ocean, threatening freedom of navigation and international trade. And they broke their word to the world to guarantee Hong Kong autonomy. The Chinese government has continually violated its promises to us and to so many other nations. “That is a quote from a speech delivered in the White House rose garden on May 29, 2020 by President Trump.
During his tenure, Trump has used the bar of trade sanctions in an attempt to bring China in line. Biden’s tactics will be fundamentally different from Trump’s. As described during his campaign and by several members of his national security advisers, Biden could pressure Beijing more effectively than President Trump by pushing US allies and criticizing its human rights record.
