"I hope that the Trump administration understands that ASEAN sits in the backyard of China and deserves to be treated with consideration. In all likelihood, the tariff threats by the US may accelerate the push of Malaysia and other ASEAN nations towards BRICS as well as China," Dr. Shankaran Nambiar, a Malaysian economist and author, told Sputnik India.
"Accordingly, he [Ibrahim] has held meetings with President Xi Jinping of China, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and PM Narendra Modi. We have also seen the leaders of Indonesia and Vietnam being in regular touch with the US President. So, Malaysia and other ASEAN leaders just want to take a balanced position in the intensifying geopolitical rivalry," Nambiar noted.
"Trump is afraid of BRICS because its combined economic power and push for alternatives—from development banks to payment systems—could gradually erode the US dollar's global reserve currency as a position of US Global power," Gayatri stressed.
"Politically, Trump's actions validate the rationale behind BRICS and similar groupings, convincing more nations. They must band together to assert their sovereignty in a multipolar system. Ironically, Trump aims to preserve American primacy, but his approaches risk accelerating the decline of US dominance. Thus, Trump's approaches are also likely to lead to a new global balance, one where no single country's currency or tariffs can easily threaten others," Gayatri suggested.
"From the US perspective, China's economic growth has threatened its unitary economic role, and countries such as Indonesia and India are following the path of becoming the next Asian giants, where the balance of economic power would shift from the Global North to the Global South. That's what Trump is trying to balance, but such tariff policies will only distance countries from the US and make them closer to China for more trade opportunities," Kostanian said in a conversation with Sputnik India.