In three phone calls with key Asian leaders this week, Donald Trump has once again upended expectations. We may now indeed have a radical break in the US approach to the region. The first of these, with Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan, came with a detailed text of the conversation released by the Pakistani prime minister’s office. He is reported to have lavished praise on Sharif and the country more generally in what appears to be Trump’s typically solicitous approach to relationship building. While not making any specific commitments or promises the detail of the call revealed by the Pakistan government makes life difficult for the US given how much time and effort it has put into improving its relations with India and may prompt unrealistic expectations in Islamabad. Read more
