Reference News Network, January 21 report: Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" website published an article titled "Tang Luoism Reconfigures the U.S.-led Order, Not a Strategic Retreat" on January 12. The author is Xu Yaonan. The article is excerpted as follows:

The Venezuelan President Maduro was forcibly controlled by the U.S. and transferred to New York for trial, which has drawn high attention from the international community. This incident itself goes beyond the scope of judicial or diplomatic disputes, more like a concentrated display of U.S. foreign strategic orientation.

If placed within the overall policy framework of Trump's second term, it can be seen that this is not an isolated action, but a strategic practice that can be summarized as "Tang Luoism" — a combination of Trump-style realism and Monroe Doctrine. Its core goal is not strategic contraction or withdrawal from global affairs, but through redefining spheres of influence, restoring and consolidating the United States' leading position in the international system.

More like selective intervention

The Monroe Doctrine proposed in 1823 stated "The Americas are the Americans' Americas," whose essence was not isolationism, but a declaration of exclusive hegemony over the Western Hemisphere. After the Cold War, as the U.S. strategic focus shifted towards Eurasia, Central and South America gradually became a field for multiple forces to compete. Over the past 20 years, China's increasing influence in capital, infrastructure, and finance, and Russia's enhanced presence in energy and security have led to a de facto trend of "de-Americanization" in the region.

Different from previous U.S. governments that relied more on diplomatic mediation and economic sanctions, Trump's approach is more realistic. He does not try to fix an increasingly hollow international norm system, but prioritizes restoring the U.S.'s actual control in key geostrategic spaces. The Venezuela incident is an embodiment of this logic: in areas where the U.S. considers its vital interests, it no longer tolerates strategic opponents establishing stable footholds.

Some views argue that the 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy report's emphasis on the Monroe Doctrine suggests that the Trump administration is pushing for a strategic retreat, even moving toward regionalism or isolationism. Such judgments often stem from Trump's limited involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war, his redefinition of allies' responsibilities, and his indifference to multilateral mechanisms, as well as his lack of emphasis on postwar liberal international order or democratic value exports. However, from the perspective of international relations theory, this is more akin to selective intervention rather than a strategic retreat. Trump opposes "liberal internationalism with unlimited responsibilities," not the U.S. leadership in the international system itself.

Under this framework, the U.S. has not withdrawn from the world, but is reordering its global layout. Trump proposed the acquisition of Greenland, pointing to Arctic shipping routes, strategic depth, and future energy patterns; adopted a tough stance on the Iranian nuclear issue to prevent irreversible changes in the Middle East's power structure; and showed firm support for Israel, reflecting the U.S.'s continued desire to shape the Middle East's security architecture. These policies do not constitute a retreat, but a more cost-effective and controllable form of engagement.

Not accepting the "Post-American Era"

This is also true in the Indo-Pacific. Although Trump maintained the strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan issue, he did not weaken Taiwan's strategic weight in terms of the scale of arms sales, technological cooperation, and security interactions. This indicates that the U.S. has not abandoned viewing Taiwan as an important pivot in the Indo-Pacific strategy, but instead uses it in a more transactional and instrumental way.

From a broader perspective, "Tang Luoism" is not solely aimed at a specific country, but aims to prevent the emergence of "structural challengers." Whether it is China's influence in economic, technological, and industrial chain areas, or Russia's presence in security and energy fields, their common characteristic lies in: once they complete integration in key regions, they may weaken the U.S.'s long-standing structural advantages. "Tang Luoism" seeks to stop this trend.

Therefore, the core logic of the U.S. is a hegemonic defense strategy based on geopolitical space: restoring exclusive influence in the Western Hemisphere, preventing adversaries from forming solid alliances in the edges of Europe and Asia, and maintaining overwhelming intervention capabilities at critical nodes. This is not expansion at the level of values, but a more sober and even cold way of using national power. For Asia, this means that the way the U.S. participates in regional order is changing. The U.S. will still be deeply involved in Indo-Pacific affairs, but the focus has shifted from value narratives to power balance and cost-benefit analysis. This change may make the regional security environment more uncertain and place higher demands on the strategic judgment of small and medium-sized countries.

Under the "red line politics" and "transactional logic" emphasized by "Tang Luoism," smaller countries must rely more on institutional credibility, diplomatic flexibility, and regional cooperation to maintain their strategic space.

"Tang Luoism" is not a simple revival of the Monroe Doctrine era or the role of the U.S. in the 20th century, but a more realistic and transactional way of hegemon management. It weakens value narratives, but strengthens power boundaries; reduces moral commitments, but clearly defines strategic red lines.

This shows that the U.S. has not accepted the arrival of the "post-American era," but is reconfirming its status as a global dominant power in new ways. In a sense, Trump attempts to enhance the adaptability of the U.S. system through reshaping strategic boundaries and policy tools, to cope with an international environment marked by significantly increased uncertainty.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7597804143813657123/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.