NHK interviewed an expert in Southeast Asia about what U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's new administration could bring for diplomacy and economic measures after he takes office on Monday.

Trump has called for correcting trade imbalances under his "America First" policy. He has already announced plans to raise tariffs on products from China, Mexico and Canada.

Tang Siew Mun, senior fellow of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, says the US tariff hike on China may increase Chinese companies' investment in the region. But he says the US might also target countries with trade deficits, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

Tang says that Southeast Asian states "have to be very careful" of "efforts to circumvent U.S. sanctions, which potentially will put us in the line of sight of the United States, and sanctions may be put on countries in Southeast Asia."

Regarding diplomacy, Tang says he expects Trump to continue a hardline stance toward China. He thinks the U.S. will keep providing military support to the Philippines, which has territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.

He says he believes Southeast Asian countries should "remain committed to self-reliance," and "avoid being swayed by the next U.S. administration, whose policies are impossible to predict."

Tang says that one lesson learned is that "we shouldn't put our eggs in one basket," and "shouldn't be too reliant on the United States," China, Japan, or the European Union. He says the region's priority should be "first and foremost to enhance our self-reliance within ASEAN."
Therefore, he says, "we need to diversify. We need to work with more partners."