Is the Trump Doctrine Sidelining China’s Proxies?

Commentary

Are the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy strategy beginning to peel away satellite nations that are within Beijing’s orbit? It’s not an easy question to definitively answer, but there are signs that point in that direction.

The Trump Doctrine calls for a robust U.S. presence in the Western Hemisphere but also a global presence to deter adversaries before they execute hybrid warfare against the United States and its allies.

Securing U.S. borders is a major part of the equation to uphold liberty and national security. Enlisting the help of Mexico and other Latin American nations to erode the power of the drug and human trafficking cartels is another crucial factor in Trump’s doctrine.

The Trump model began to take shape when high-value targets Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2019) and Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (2020) were taken down during the U.S. president’s first term. They were responsible for numerous attacks against Israel, as well as the deaths of hundreds of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It’s common knowledge that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is highly involved in the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the form of debt trap projects and military aid. The hubris of the CCP’s vision of permanent revolution can lead to a boomerang effect that returns to haunt those whose dreams outpace actual capabilities—some call it karma.

In December 2024, Bashar al-Assad was deposed in Syria and was sent packing to Moscow. That critical event disrupted the terror pipeline that flowed from Tehran to Iraq to Damascus and then to Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank. That disruption helped to facilitate the degradation of Hamas, Hezbollah, and, to a degree, the Houthis in Yemen.

Since 1997, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has exerted undue influence over port operations at the Panama Canal through Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison. Under pressure from the Panamanians and the Trump team, the Panama Maritime Authority assumed control of the two ports through a 2026 ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court. The Panama Canal Authority now manages the canal, while the Danish company Maersk manages the Atlantic & Pacific port operations.

In January 2026, the multi-agency Operation Absolute Resolve captured Nicolás Maduro from his Caracas compound. He was taken to New York City to face trial as an indicted narco-terrorist. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez then took over the reins as president.

As a consequence of the capture of Maduro, communist Cuba is nearing collapse because of its isolation from its primary trading partner, Venezuela. Perhaps some form of internal regime change in Cuba could occur in the coming months.

Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 severely degraded Iran’s nuclear ambitions and subterranean uranium enrichment program. Iranian authorities have always claimed that their nuclear program was meant for peaceful purposes, yet oddly, much of the near-weapons-grade fissile material development was carried out underground. Why were they hiding this nuclear process?

Following Operation Midnight Hammer, Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion in 2026 have crippled most of Iran’s air defense systems, drones, military industrial base, missiles, and navy. Many of the component parts that went into the weapons systems originated from China and Russia.

Who would have guessed that skeptical African nations would consult with the United States regarding plans to reduce terrorism within their borders? Yet very recently, a joint U.S. and Nigerian special operation neutralized several terrorists and a top ISIS leader who was the brains behind numerous attacks in North and West Africa. ISIS has a track record of persecuting and killing Christians and anyone else who doesn’t subscribe to militant Islam.

Likewise, prior to the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Philippines, it was painstaking to garner cooperation from the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte, to counter communist influence in the region. However, under Marcos, it appears that there is greater cooperation in the spheres of economic development and security now that the Abu Sayyaf terror group has been decimated.

One might conjecture what these somewhat unrelated events have in common. Plenty more than meets the eye. The fingerprints of the CCP have been working to steer these state and non-state actors to indirectly attack Western pro-democracy interests through unrestricted warfare.

Consequently, these proxies are being sidelined due to their efforts to subvert the security of the United States and its allies. On the flip side, distancing from the PRC could also illustrate blowback against the CCP’s playbook.

If some of the CCP’s proxies on three continents become fragmented away from the malign influence of Beijing and Tehran, there is hope that freedom and opportunity could be on the rise in these struggling regions. Likewise, the CCP will have fewer victims in its quest for global supremacy, and Iranian aggression can be contained within its borders.

The CCP will likely attempt to reconnect with its fragmented proxies. However, if the Trump Doctrine is effective, more Arab Middle East nations might think about joining the Abraham Accords, which can normalize relations with Israel. Moreover, socialist leaning leaders might learn to trust their own citizens and consider the merits of human liberty, free markets, and representative governance.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.