u.s. allies in asia are moving to preserve their security ties to washington after donald trump <u+2019>s victory threatened to overturn the geopolitical landscape . the heads of australia, japan and south korea all called mr. trump on thursday to congratulate him and plug their u.s. ties after the republican leader expressed a willingness during the campaign to alter longstanding security arrangements with them. mr. trump didn<u+2019>t raise that possibility on the thursday calls, according to their accounts. japanese prime minister shinzo abe, who set plans to visit mr. trump in new york next week, said the president-elect confirmed the u.s. commitment to japan, where 54,000 american troops are based. mr. abe told mr. trump the u.s.-japanese alliance <u+201c>is a vital anchor of peace and stability in the region.<u+201d> mr. trump also pledged his commitment to south korea, where 28,500 u.s. troops are based, south korean president park geun-hye<u+2019>s office said. in australia, a rotation site for u.s. marines, prime minister malcolm turnbull said he believed the u.s. <u+201c>will continue to be a foundation for peace and stability.<u+201d> still, anxieties over a trump presidency are high in a region where beijing<u+2019>s sway is growing, north korea is advancing a nuclear-weapons program and terrorists threaten<u+200b>southeast asia. the u.s. has helped preserve stability and growth in the asia-pacific region since world war ii. president barack obama <u+2019>s so-called pivot to asia was intended to enhance that role and counterbalance china. the obama administration encouraged myanmar<u+2019>s military junta to yield to democracy, dropped the u.s. arms embargo against vietnam, deployed warships to the south china sea to challenge beijing<u+2019>s territorial claims and pushed denuclearization. mr. trump<u+2019>s isolationist tone and his demands that japan and south korea pay more for u.s. defense arrangements and even develop their own nuclear arsenals alarmed the region and raised questions over the alliances<u+2019> durability. <u+201c>u.s. allies will now have to find realistic ways of keeping the u.s. as engaged as possible, but also build a [regional] insurance policy where allies and partners do more to help themselves and to help one another,<u+201d> said rory medcalf, a strategic analyst at australian national university. some of them have already moved to bolster their security in new ways. south korea and japan recently resumed talks about a deal to share military intelligence in response to north korea<u+2019>s growing threat. japan and australia recently began mounting more joint military exercises. and japan and the philippines agreed last month to <u+201c>enhance security and defense cooperation.<u+201d> since coming to power in june, philippine president rodrigo duterte has hedged his bets by distancing his country from the u.s. and drawing closer to china. malaysia and myanmar have also moved to build warmer ties with beijing. south korea and japan are doubling down on their current strategy. <u+201c>we should establish a cooperative relationship with the next u.s. administration as quickly as possible,<u+201d> ms. park of south korea told top security officials. in coming talks with mr. trump and his advisers, japanese officials say they will emphasize their arrangement is mutually beneficial. they will point out that tokyo pays wages of local employees at the bases, foots the bill for rent and other expenses, and has spent billions of dollars in recent years to pay for the realignment of u.s. forces within japan and transfers to guam, japanese officials said. <u+201c>we have to resolve mr. trump<u+2019>s misunderstandings toward japan as quickly as possible,<u+201d> ichita yamamoto, a ruling-party lawmaker who is close to prime minister abe, said after the u.s. vote. akihisa nagashima, a conservative-leaning opposition lawmaker who met with trump adviser michael flynn before the election, said japan shouldn<u+2019>t agree to a big spending increase. <u+201c>japan is going about as far as it can in financial terms,<u+201d> he said. if japan paid for the whole cost for u.s. troops, he said, they would effectively be <u+201c>mercenaries.<u+201d> <u+2018> of course, it would have a huge effect if the u.s. pulled out its troops from japan, an unimaginable impact. but is that really going to happen? <u+2019> the u.s. spends about $5.5 billion a year on its bases and personnel in japan, while tokyo says it spends a roughly similar amount annually to support u.s. bases in japan and the region. south korea said it spent about $866 million for the u.s. military presence there in 2014, about 40% of the total cost. political and security analysts said mr. trump may amend his threats to alter security pacts once he better understands the relationships. <u+201c>of course, it would have a huge effect if the u.s. pulled out its troops from japan, an unimaginable impact,<u+201d> said yoshiki mine, president of the institute for peaceful diplomacy, a foreign-policy research organization. <u+201c>but is that really going to happen?<u+201d> other experts see a trump administration trying to cut new deals. talks over the amount seoul pays for the u.s. military presence in south korea are due next year. <u+201c>expect the u.s. to drive a hard bargain on negotiation with south korea,<u+201d> said victor cha, korea chair at the center for strategic and international studies, a washington, d. c-based think tank. <u+2014>eleanor warnock in tokyo, james hookway in manila and rob taylor in canberra contributed to this article. write to alastair gale at alastair.gale@wsj.com and mitsuru obe at mitsuru.obe@wsj.com
u.s. allies in asia work to keep security pacts after trump win - wsj
alastair gale mitsuru obe