The range of personalities and differing philosophies of the designated key officials under the administration of US president-elect Donald Trump mean there is much potential for internal conflict, said two prominent academics.

For example, Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson and National Economic Council director-designate Gary Cohn are known to be in favour of free trade, while Trump has advocated for protectionist policies.

“Some people are already describing Trump’s team as a team of economic rivals,” noted Professor Michael Brown of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Brown was  speaking in Singapore on Thursday (12 January) at “US-Asia Relations: The Next Four Years and Beyond”, together with Professor Bates Gill of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at Australian National University.

The dialogue, attended by more than 150 people, was organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and moderated by its dean Professor Joseph Liow.