Declaring war “against everybody” including China and hoping for the right result is very worrying.

Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor distils 40 years of experience covering the Asian continent, with expert guests.

In this episode, Ravi speaks with Ambassador John Bolton, the American foreign policy hawk and former National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump, on US policy toward Asia.

Mr Bolton speaks on the chaos and confusion in the Trump White House, the lack of a coherent policy toward Asia including senseless tariffs slapped on key security partners, and Mr Trump’s proclivity to personalise foreign policy.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:00 A tone-deaf presidency 

4:45 Asia in Trump 2.0

6:30 Singapore’s shock over tariffs

10:20 Is Trump more than an aberration?

11:30 Trump’s China fascination

13:40 Desperation for a Nobel; Trump in Asian conflicts

16:40 Are Quad and Aukus dead in the water?

19:00 Taiwan has reason to be worried

Host: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg)

Read Ravi's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP

Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor

Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters

Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani & Natasha Liew

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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