2025: A Trumpian Year of Geopolitical Shifts in Asia

About this episode

The episode reflects on the geopolitical shifts in Asia during 2025, influenced by Donald Trump's return to the presidency.

As 2026 dawns, we look back at a tumultuous year. In this episode of The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast, Ankit Panda and Katie Putz reflect on 2025, a year dominated by Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency and the unspooling of his particular brand of foreign policy across the globe. In Asia, allies and adversaries alike navigated the new regime in Washington, one willing to wield tariffs as a cudgel against both, and walk back threats as often as it made them. Meanwhile, Trump had a propensity to insert itself into distant conflicts and declare lasting peace. In regard to both the India-Pakistan conflict and the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, what peace has emerged is fragile, with the underlying problems unaddressed and likely to resurface in 2026.

People in this episode

Host: Ankit Panda

Guest: Katie Putz

Topics covered

• geopolitics
• foreign policy
• U.S. presidency
• Asia
• conflict resolution
• tariffs

Keywords

• Trump
• Asia geopolitics
• foreign policy
• India-Pakistan conflict
• Cambodia-Thailand conflict
• tariffs
• 2025

Mentioned in this episode

Places: India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand

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