Engaging the Eagle - Exploring U.S. Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia

United States President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24. Trade, artificial intelligence (AI) management, and the growing strategic rivalry between the two countries were on the agenda, but what actually emerged from the meeting? When will the two leaders meet next?

Join us as we sit down with Mr Lye Liang Fook, an Associate Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, to discuss the outcomes and implications of the Trump-Xi Summit.

Canada’s economic and trade ties with the United States run deep, but hostile circumstances are compelling Canadian leaders to look to Asia to find new markets and partners. How far could this pivot go? What are the challenges that Ottawa would face in the short to medium term?

Join us as we sit down with Mr Barrett Bingley, the Asia Regional Director at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, to talk about Canada’s pivot to Asia.

Malaysia and the United States upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October 2025, but there are important questions about where the relationship stands today. While ties have been defined by stability for years, US economic policy has emerged as an area of increasing pressure for Putrajaya. Malaysian public opinion about the US has also worsened since 2025. What do these trends mean for the relationship, especially looking ahead in the medium term?

The United States and Indonesia signed a Major Defence Cooperation Partnership (MDCP) on April 13, signifying a new stage in bilateral defence cooperation. The MDCP’s three pillars concern military modernisation and capacity building; training and professional military education; and exercises and operational cooperation, all of which are ostensibly aimed at building Indonesia’s military capacity and interoperability with the US military. Yet, there have also been reports of the US requesting blanket overflight clearance to Indonesia’sairspace, raising questions about sovereignty and neutrality.

What do these developments signal about the US-Indonesia relationship, and how can we expect this relationship to develop?

This episode examines how ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are reshaping maritime security dynamics and strategic calculations across Asia’s critical sea lanes. It explores the extent to which disruptions at key chokepoints, such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, affect energy flows, trade routes, and naval operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The episode is based off a webinar that was co-hosted by YCAPS and RSIS on April 20, 2026. The speakers included Dr John Bradford, Dr Collin Koh, and Dr Fang Yang.

Since the start of March, Southeast Asian economies have been met with bad news from outside the region. For one, the US war on Iran has created economic ripple effects that reverberated beyond the Middle East. Then, on March 11, the US Trade Representative’s office opened not one, but two Section 301 investigations into countries allegedly abusing excess industrial capacity and forced labour to the detriment of American firms.

These investigations will take months to process. Nonetheless, they point to a new phase of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to use tariffs as tools of leverage.

What can we expect in terms of broader economic turbulence as a result of these challenges? Should the war continue for weeks, if not months, how serious could the economic consequences become? What should we expect from the Section 301 investigations, and how are governments responding?

For years, successive US governments have expressed a desire to make Asia their primary strategic interest – but that push for a pivot to Asia seems to have faded. The most recent National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategymake it clear that America’s strategic priority is the Western Hemisphere, explicitly narrowing US security objectives in Asia to protecting the first island chain. What would such a shift mean for US strategy, and what implications does this have for regional governments?

Tune in to hear Dr Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a Lecturer at Princeton University, offer his thoughts on US strategy in Asia, and what the region might look like as American strategic attention shifts elsewhere.

Barely 50 days into 2026, it feels like an eternity has passed in the realm of US foreign policy. From Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela on January 3, to the standoff over Greenland, to the announcement of the Board of Peace, there is a long list of noteworthy developments. The big question is what these developments mean for Southeast Asia, and what we should look out for next.

Join Adrian and Kevin as they discuss the opening weeks of what promises to be an eventful year.

Over the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump expressed territorial ambitions for places such as Canada and Panama – but his consistent statements about wanting to take control of Greenland have come back into thelimelight after the recent US operation in Venezuela. Why does Mr Trump want Greenland so badly? How far will he go to realise his desire?

Tune in to hear Assistant Professor William James, Deputy Coordinator of the MSc (Strategic Studies) Programme at RSIS, offer his thoughts on Mr Trump’s desire for Greenland and its possible implications for the international order.

How have Trump administration policies affected the reach of US influence, especially in Southeast Asia and BRICS countries? Tune in to hear Gregory Poling, Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., present the findings of the new CSIS Global Alignment Index, which measures support for US, Chinese and Russian leadership over time.