Quote from Hunter Marston--link below: China & Myanmar & US Policy under Trump.

Trump has surrounded himself with China hawks including Rep. Mike Waltz, his pick for national security advisor, Jacob Helberg, whom he has tapped to lead the State Department’s economic policy, and Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Rubio has a strong record on human rights and is also seen as an institutionalist who is likely to use all of the levers of state available to him. He could work with colleagues on the Hill such as Sen. Todd Young, who used his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pressure the SAC to restore democracy in

There is as yet no information on who will fill influential Southeast Asia-related posts. However, the president-elect’s advisers will almost certainly advocate a confrontational approach toward China, and that might extend to taking the fight to Beijing’s backyard, including Myanmar. The administration is unlikely to lend greater material support to the resistance, which would run counter to President Trump’s stated commitment not to involve the United States in more overseas conflicts. More likely, the administration will consider expanding sanctions on Chinese companies with links to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as well as Chinese companies involved in resource extraction in Myanmar, which bankrolls the Myanmar military and prolongs the conflict.

However, Trump’s willingness to cut a deal with Xi Jinping may increase the likelihood that Washington may make concessions to respect a Chinese sphere of influence in Southeast Asia. In such a scenario, the people of Myanmar and the resistance are likely to lose support as China strengthens its influence over the country and supports the junta’s fraudulent elections, expected to take place in November 2025.