Obama’s recent wavering on the use of force in Syria has left many in Asia doubting whether they can rely on America not only if China forcibly asserts its maritime claims, but also if North Korea carries out its threats to attack the South. Conspicuously, South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s “Trustpolitik” – a soft-power approach to North Korea that calls for deeper cooperation with China, the North’s most important ally – is particularly popular.