US shows it's hell-bent on having its own way

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' weeklong trip to Asia has caught global attention as it comes just two days after the Pentagon revealed its national defense strategy on Friday. Not surprisingly, it has been anticipated that his visits to Vietnam and Indonesia will set out new markers for US strategy in the Asia-Pacific.

However, rather than announcing a sharply different approach to that of the previous US administration, the signals given so far suggest the current administration simply intends to ratchet up the strategy pursued by its predecessor.

Although Mattis will likely refrain from referring to it in the same terms, judging by the US' recently released report on the strategic thinking of the Donald Trump administration, which views China and Russia as growing threats to the US, the trip is intended to reinforce the confrontational posture the US and its regional allies adopted toward China under the Barack Obama administration by bringing the two countries onboard its containment strategy.