Trump win will cause insecurity in Asia pacific: Analyst

Donald Trump's plan to charge US allies for military protection will create significant instability in the Asia Pacific region, leaving Australia needing to build new partnerships with other countries likely to be anxious about rising Chinese assertiveness. This is the view that leading defence policy analyst Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, Academic Director of the Australian National University (ANU) National Security College, will tell a special seminar in Sydney on Friday. "If Donald Trump wins then all bets are off," Associate Professor Sussex said. "Australia will look to ramp up its security partnership with the Japanese in particular, but will need to go beyond its traditional comfort zone if it is to feel reassured in a region that has become much more tense than even a couple of years ago. "Trump wants to deliver all the things that Australia would prefer were not delivered in the region. "He wants to end trade liberalisation and go back to protectionism, he wants to draw down America's alliances worldwide, and he wants the friends of the United States to realise that if they want security, then they have to pay for it." Associate Professor Sussex said Trump's foreign policies would undermine confidence in the United States, forcing nations such as Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea to build new relationships to ensure their security. "A Trump victory would harm those relationships because he would say if you want security you have to pay for it," Associate Professor Sussex said.