Trumpian Geoeconomics and Pivot to Asia

Perhaps the most important consequence of the Iran War — other than degrading the military capabilities of the Iranian regime and depriving that regime of nuclear weapons — is the deterrent effect it will likely have on China’s geopolitical ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. For not only has Trump demonstrated to China’s leaders America’s immense military capabilities by destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure and conventional military assets (including their warships), but also America’s capacity to wage economic warfare by controlling strategic waterways and chokepoints through which China obtains much of its energy supplies. Trumpian geoeconomics may give the United States the edge in Indo-Pacific geopolitics.