Elbridge Colby, whom Le Monde met on the sidelines of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is one of the names often mentioned when it comes to laying out the potential Trump administration's foreign policy. A former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development (2017-2018), he is a prolific author, often quoted in conservative media, and focused on systemic rivalry with China.
Donald Trump's approach to international relations is transactional, whether with NATO or Taiwan. What can we expect from a Trump-Vance administration?
I do not speak for Donald Trump or his campaign. To me, "transactional" implies a short-term tactical exchange. The words used on the party platform are "common sense". It's putting American interests first. If, for instance, the balance of responsibility in relations between allies, with Europe or Japan, is no longer making sense to Americans and is manifestly unequitable − which it clearly is − that needs to be rectified, rather than ignored. That is the way to preserve our alliances. The "international rule-based order" is a recent artificial construct. We are rejecting the hubris and lack of feasibility of post-Cold War strategy, and are discussing a return to Republican Cold War strategy, which was always concerned with aligning the ends with the means.
You are one of the most ardent advocates of a pivot to Asia. But Donald Trump suggests that his administration would abandon Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion...
The Taiwanese cannot take it for granted that the American people will support them. I said this to the Taiwanese president: You're on a knife's edge. When president Trump says Taiwan would be hard to defend, he is expressing something that I hear from many Americans, including establishment Republicans. Taiwan is like a 70 interest out of 100 for Americans. But it would be much better to avoid that. How? By giving the president the best possible basis for defending it – manifest strength of a denial defense. Thus we should have been husbanding our resources for many years, as senator Vance has said. But instead, the Biden administration has been sending all the weapons to Ukraine, and the money to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East. In the meantime our armed forces and defense industry are not in good shape
J. D. Vance is now DonaldTrump's running mate. What message does this send to America's NATO allies?
I don't speak for senator Vance, but he is a superb pick for a common-sense foreign policy for Americans. Whatever happens over Taiwan, the Americans are going to focus more on Asia and we have limits in our capacities. The GOP platform does not include a doubling of the defense budget.
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