Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of all U.S. naval forces in the Indo-Pacific, was tongue-tied.

Addressing a conference of military and national security professionals in November, he stumbled and struggled to get out a sentence on how President-elect Trump’s unpredictability might be used for good in confronting the deepening alliance among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

“I really see a lot of continuity coming,” he managed to spit out, triggering laughs in the room.

Then, in an unusually casual move that downplayed the seriousness of the question, he high-fived his co-panelists, Australia’s chief of intelligence and the chief of Canada’s defense staff.

The episode, during the Halifax International Security Forum, demonstrated the hope-for-the-best attitude among U.S. officials and America’s allies despite uncertainty over whether progress made during the Biden administration to deepen relations with, and between, Indo-Pacific partners may get torn up by Trump’s desire to undo any Democratic-led initiatives.

There are fears Trump could fragment alliances that Biden created by focusing too much on bilateral and deal-making ties. Or, he may withdraw military and economic support in the region as a gesture of goodwill toward China’s autocratic president, Xi Jinping.

But Trump’s selection of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State, and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) as national security adviser, instills confidence in some skeptics of a balanced approach to the region.

The two men are viewed as experienced national security professionals with a track record of understanding threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party and supporting democratic allies, and that could help fulfill Trump’s promise to end wars while demonstrating “peace through strength” — the Reagan-era slogan that Trump has adopted.

“I allow myself a note of optimism on foreign policy in the next Trump administration,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, said during a panel on the future of U.S.-China relations at the Brookings Institution last month.

“If that adds up to a fairly hawkish approach, but a skepticism of kinetic conflict, we might be all right.”

But Trump’s invitation to Xi to his inauguration, holding recent phone calls with the leader, and describing his cutting off the relationship with Xi during COVID

© The Hill