Southeast Asian leaders are adept at dealing with President-elect Trump’s transactional style of diplomacy, but an escalating U.S.-China conflict would severely harm the region.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Trump on a "remarkable political comeback and victory," while Hun Manet, the Cambodian premier, said he is "confident that the indispensable US role in promoting stability,

During his campaign, President-elect Trump pledged to decrease military involvement overseas and upend what he described as unfair trade practices.

Donald Trump’s comeback is now certain, after he decisively won re-election to the White House, but there is growing uncertainty over how his second-term administration will deal with the Asia-Pacific—a region of increasing strategic relevance and home to a number of international economic and security concerns for the U.