The most consequential moments of the Trump–Xi summit last week did not occur at South Korea’s Gimhae International Airport. Statements about ‘stabilizing relations’ and ‘reducing tensions’ were predictable, almost perfunctory.
The real story unfolded in the weeks leading up to the summit – in the choreography, the pageantry and the unmistakable assertion of American power across the Indo-Pacific. By the time Xi Jinping sat across from Donald Trump, he was meeting a U.S. president who had already recommitted to America’s military preeminence in the region, reaffirmed its alliances, and reminded Beijing that the United States remains the indispensable Pacific power.
In the days before the summit, Trump delivered a series of moves that together amounted to a strategic message. When reporters aboard Air Force One asked about Taiwan, he replied simply, ‘There’s not that much to ask about it. Taiwan is Taiwan.’
The remark – off-the-cuff but unmistakable in meaning – pushed back against speculation that his administration might soften on the issue in pursuit of a grand bargain with Beijing. Trump’s statement told Xi that the United States would not barter away the foundation of East Asian stability for a better trade deal. Since 1979, American policy toward Taiwan has relied on strategic ambiguity – but Trump’s phrasing underscored deterrence, not doubt.
Then came a tangible demonstration of alliance power. The Trump administration announced a new partnership with a leading South Korean shipbuilder to co-produce nuclear-powered submarines and expand U.S. shipyard capacity – a deal expected to bring billions of dollars in investment and jobs to American facilities, including in Philadelphia and along the Gulf Coast.
For all the rhetoric about ‘America First,’ this was alliance diplomacy in practice: fusing allied industrial bases to strengthen deterrence. At a time when China is out-building the U.S. Navy at a breathtaking pace, the U.S.–ROK shipbuilding initiative signals that Washington is no longer content to outsource maritime capacity to its competitors.
Equally deliberate was Trump’s decision to post on Truth Social about nuclear-weapons testing – announcing that the United States would resume limited tests to ensure readiness. The statement came in direct response to China’s accelerated nuclear expansion.
