US President Donald Trump is to skip two major summits in Asia in November, a move that could stoke concerns in the region about the US’ reliability as a counterweight to China.
The White House on Friday said that US Vice President Mike Pence would travel to Singapore for an 18-member ASEAN summit, before heading to Papua New Guinea for an APEC gathering.
The APEC summit is normally attended by 21 leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo: Reuters
The decision removes one potential avenue for Trump to meet with Xi as a trade war between the US and China deepens. Both leaders are expected to attend the G20 summit in Argentina later in November.
Trump’s absence is also likely to fuel concerns among Asian leaders who want the US to push back against China’s increasing economic and military might.
Trump administration officials have been promoting a new “Indo-Pacific” strategy to bolster its commitment to the region, after Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and questioned the cost of security alliances with Japan and South Korea.
“His absence would doubtlessly solidify the impression that America has essentially abandoned its traditional presence in the Asia-Pacific, not to mention the non-starter Indo-Pacific,” said Oh Ei Sun (胡逸山), a senior adviser for international affairs at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Kuala Lumpur.
Without Trump, Xi would have more space to advocate Chinese trade and development projects, such as his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
Xi was the first leader to confirm his attendance to the APEC meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he also plans to host his own summit with Pacific leaders.
Although US leaders have attended the events over the past few years, missing them is not unprecedented.
In 2007, then-US president George W. Bush drew flak for rescheduling a planned meeting with ASEAN leaders in Singapore. Former US president Barack Obama, whose administration announced a pivot in military and diplomatic resources to Asia, in 2013 skipped APEC to handle a government shutdown.
Newly installed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a trip to Jakarta yesterday told reporters that Trump’s decision to tend to matters at home was understandable and Pence “speaks with the authority of the [US] president.”
The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Pence’s visit to the city-state, adding in a statement that it would be his first as US vice president.
The Asian summits come days after midterm US Congressional elections, which could determine Trump’s ability to withstand investigations into Russian campaign interference and election-season payments to alleged mistresses.
While US Democratic Party leaders have largely avoided talking about impeaching Trump, Republican losses in the US House of Representatives or Senate would greatly increase the risk of congressional action.
Collin Koh Swee Lean (高瑞連), a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said that efforts by US officials in the region should help offset Trump’s absence.
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo at an ASEAN meeting last month announced US$300 million in regional security funding and the US military is among nine nations participating in the ongoing annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training exercises in Singapore.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS