Let China dominate Asia and Europe take responsibility for its own security, while the US will maintain dominance over the rest of the Western Hemisphere. This is the vision of US President Donald John Trump for the future world power structure. The Trump Administration has conveyed this message in the recently released 33-page National Security Strategy (NSS). The NSS, dated December 4, 2025, portrays the President’s America First doctrine that prioritises US sovereignty, non-interventionism, economic independence and a strategic reorientation toward the Western Hemisphere.

Every new US Presidential Administration is legally mandated to transmit a NSS to the Congress and they generally announce it at least once. The NSS usually explains what the US Government thinks about the global power structure, the military strategy, etc. While China is not framed as a global military challenger like in the 2017 NSS, the Asian giant is identified as a primary economic competitor. The strategy calls for balanced trade, the protection of US intellectual property and securing supply chains to restore the economic independence of the US.

Peter Brian Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defence, has explained the global policy of the Trump Administration at the Ronald Reagan National Library’s Annual Defence Forum in Simi Valley, California. Speaking at the event on December 4, 2025, he stressed that although the US would firmly deal with all issues related to China in the coming days, it would avoid confrontation with the Asian Powerhouse in the Indo-Pacific Region. The Defence Secretary stated: “President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations. The War Department is committed to opening a wider range of military-to-military communications with China’s People’s Liberation Army, aimed at deconfliction and de-escalation.” He added: “This line of effort is based on flexible realism… an approach aimed not at domination, but rather a balance of power… that will enable all of us, all countries, to enjoy a decent peace in the Indo-Pacific, where trade flows openly and fairly, where we can all prosper and all interests are respected.” Hegseth told the audience: “That is the world that we see in the Indo-Pacific and that is what our approach is designed to produce.”

Meanwhile, the Defence Secretary acknowledged the rising military capabilities of China, saying that the US would follow a policy of “respecting the historic military buildup (China is) undertaking” and the Pentagon “maintains a clear-eyed appreciation of how rapid, formidable and holistic their military buildup has been”.

Hegseth made it clear that Europe would have to take the responsibility for its own security as the US would remain focussed on the Western Hemisphere. He reportedly said that the Western allies and partners of the US should step up to do their part for “our collective defence“. “Allies are not children. We can and should expect them to do their part,” he added.

Hegseth further explained the Trump Administration’s policy for Central and South America, stressing that the US would “rightly prioritise our homeland and hemisphere… Threats persist in other regions and our allies need to step up, and step up for real”. According to the Defence Secretary, Washington DC is increasing military buildup in the Caribbean to counter threats posed by Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Canada and Greenland. He claimed that the US military would become more involved in patrolling the southern border with Mexico. “We will secure the border in part by organising training and equipping units specifically for border defence missions, including operations in the land, maritime and air,” he told the forum.

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Political analysts are of the opinion that President Trump’s new policy is quite different from the US foreign policy that has been followed for the past four decades. António Luís Santos da Costa, the President of the European Council, has warned European countries, saying that the continent needs a NATO alternative to the US. Addressing an event in Paris on December 8, 2025, he stated: “European countries will decide on Europe.” In what may be seen as a strong rejection of perceived US interference in European affairs, Costa further said that Europe must become stronger and more sovereign on the global stage.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das