New US defense secretary unlikely to be his own man

MARK ESPER WAS SWORN in as the new US secretary of defense on Tuesday. In an article in Beijing News on Thursday, Diao Daming, a researcher in international politics at Renmin University of China, comments:

Patrick Shanahan, a veteran businessman from Boeing, was the acting secretary of defense, but Esper is more experienced in politics and military.

That Esper is a schoolmate of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo means the two will have more tacit understanding with each other in the future decision-making process of the White House.

One thing is for sure, Esper will strive to give the Department of Defense more say in the White House, and try to put an end to the department having to play second fiddle to the National Security Council or the State Department.

He will try to maintain a balance between Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, so as to become a party which both of them want to curry favor with.

Of course, the biggest challenge is to deal with the president himself. It is unlikely that Esper will be able to continue James Mattis' insistence that the Pentagon keep its professionalism and not be swayed by political interference.

The most likely scenario is that Esper will not effectively influence the president's decision, but rather the other way round. Which means Esper will have to make some compromises to win the favor of the president.

In other words, although Esper is the best choice now for the post, he is unlikely to be able to surpass Mattis in this regard.