Prime Minister Shinzo Abe deserves credit for his proactive diplomacy following Donald Trump's surprise election, reaching out to congratulate Trump almost immediately after the election and becoming the first foreign head of state to meet with the president-elect. He also recently completed a tour of four Southeast Asian countries to deepen Japan's bilateral relationships with those states. Making tangible commitments to Asian integration is vital at a moment when there are concerns the new U.S. president will adopt a more isolationist course in contrast to the Obama administration's pivot to Asia.

The good news is that complete U.S. disengagement from Asia is unlikely, especially at the scale depicted in Trump's most infamous soundbites. Members of the transition team are quick to caution that Trump's statements about U.S. allies paying more for their defense or acquiring nuclear weapons are second-order issues that could be considered only as part of a broader discussion about U.S. strategy in Asia and the nature of alliances in that strategy.

The bad news is that the transition, where administrations assemble the pieces to manage the day-to-day government functions, was a disaster by almost every conventional measure. Many of Trump's Cabinet nominees have openly broken with his statements during the confirmation hearings in the Senate on major policy issues such as the utility of alliances, relations with Russia, trade and more.