The US National Security Strategy: A Sobering Reality Check for South Asia

While much has already been written about how the Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) may impact the international community, the document has been been a rude shock for South Asia. The region is no more than a footnote in the overall U.S. strategy, which appears to seek the preservation of U.S. preeminence without an egregious global role. 

South Asia can possibly take comfort from the fact that barring Europe, which is the target for much of President Donald Trump’s loathing, China, Russia, and the Middle East, the 33-page NSS glosses over much of the world while focusing on “ putting America first.” Nevertheless, notwithstanding what the NSS – a hubristic document at its best – professes and how it serves as a roadmap for the U.S., it is Trump’s unpredictable policies that South Asia will have to prepare to deal with. 

In the 2025 NSS, India is mentioned a measly four times, compared to 21 references to China. Pakistan is the only other South Asian country to figure in the NSS. Its only appearance is in conjunction with India in relation to Trump’s unverified claim to have “ negotiated” peace between New Delhi and Islamabad earlier this year. Afghanistan, whose Bagram air base and the left-behind

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