Daniela Braun

Hegseth’s message to Europe could hardly be clearer: the US is pivoting toward the Asian model of alliance management - pragmatic, interest-driven, and results-oriented - rather than the old European model of values-based diplomacy laced with moralizing and lectures on human rights and the “rules-based order.” For Asian countries (Singapore, Philippines, etc.), relations with the US have always been structured more on common interests than common values. Singapore and Asian states are pragmatic and are willing to work with whoever occupies the White House because America’s role as the balancer in Asia remains indispensable. Even non-aligned countries such as India and former adversaries such as Vietnam now recognize this. They appreciate hard power and credible deterrence more than pretty speeches, which is perfectly in line with the US's new national security strategy. Managing the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and other hotspots requires credible deterrence and military capability far more than human rights resolutions. Asia’s focus on this aligns with the need to impose costs on revisionist behavior. Basing your foreign policy on human rights and democracy, you risk losing nations that don't exactly hold the American variant of democracy in high regard. Hegseth praised “model allies” who are “capable, clear-eyed, and ready to defend their national interests.” His use of "clear-eyed" is important here. It means that to be an ally, you must agree on what the threat is. That should be the starting point. From there, national interests converge. Note how European "allies" diverge from this framework. You have many European nations now characterizing the US as the threat to the global order instead. This is the opposite of clear-eyedness. In a world where China presents a serious, long-term challenge to the regional order, utility and resolve matter more than shared ideology. Asia adapted after the collapse of the TPP by building CPTPP and RCEP; it managed Trump’s hard-power instincts and Biden’s style alike by staying focused on interests. The US, facing its own fiscal and strategic realities, is now explicitly choosing to reward and prioritize that same pragmatism. Western Europe would indeed do well to take note.