Trump's summit no-show draws Asian
nations closer together
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[November 16, 2018]
By John Chalmers
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald
Trump didn't make it to this week's summit of Asian nations in
Singapore, but his influence was still keenly felt among the leaders who
gathered in the city.
One prime minister warned that the trade war between Washington and
Beijing could trigger a "domino effect" of protectionist steps by other
countries. Another fretted that the international order could splinter
into rival blocs.
"The most important and talked-about ... leader, President Trump, is the
only one that did not turn up," said Malcolm Cook, a senior fellow at
the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
And yet, in Trump's absence, countries from South to East Asia pressed
on with forging multilateral ties on trade and investment among
themselves, including with China.
China's representative at the meetings, Premier Li Keqiang, egged them
on.
"Now the world is facing rising protectionism. It is all the more
important for us to come together and respond to the complex world
situation to uphold multilateralism and free trade," Li said on
Thursday.
The U.S. president's lack of engagement with Asian nations came just
days after a trip to France for World War One commemorations at which he
appeared isolated from NATO allies.
Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs,
said Trump was inadvertently bringing Asian nations together.
"Not necessarily by design, but because he is not being a consistent and
reassuring presence, and because his policies have tended to fracture
the natural order that Asia is dependent upon," he said. "Asians are
trying to figure out what else they can do without relying on America
too much."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
TWO POWERS: TWO STRATEGIES
As well as the summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and East Asian nations in Singapore, Trump will also skip the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Papua New Guinea at
the end of the week.
At APEC on Friday, President Xi Jinping will showcase China's Belt and
Road initiative to Pacific leaders, several of whom are expected to sign
up to the infrastructure investment drive.
Xi's multi-billion-dollar plan, which aims to bolster a sprawling
network of land and sea links with Asian neighbors and far beyond, is
viewed with suspicion in Western capitals as an attempt to assert
Chinese influence.
Trump attended both the ASEAN and APEC meetings in 2017, and his
decision to stay away this year has raised questions about Washington's
commitment to a regional strategy to counter China.
Vice President Mike Pence, who represented Trump in Singapore, told the
meeting that United States' commitment to the Indo-Pacific is "steadfast
and enduring."
Asia presents the Trump administration with some of its most pressing
foreign policy challenges, including its strategic rivalry with China
and efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons
program.
Washington has touted what it calls an "Indo-Pacific" strategy aimed at
greater regional cooperation, notably with India, Australia and Japan,
to counter China's influence, including in the disputed South China Sea,
where it conducts naval patrols to challenge what it sees as Beijing's
excessive territorial claims.
Pence said on Thursday - without naming China - that there was no place
for "empire and aggression" in the Indo-Pacific.
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President Donald Trump points to the crowd after delivering remarks
at an event for "supporting veterans and military families" at the
White House in Washington, U.S. November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Leah
Millis
His comments follow a major speech in October in which he flagged a
tougher approach by Washington toward Beijing, accusing China of
"malign" efforts to undermine Trump and reckless military actions in
the South China Sea.
A U.S. State Department spokesman said: "We welcome contributions by
China to regional development, so long as it adheres to the highest
standards the people of the region demand. We are concerned by
China's use of coercion, influence operations, and implied military
threats to persuade other states to heed China's strategic agenda."
Shortly before Pence spoke in Singapore, the U.S. Navy announced
that two of its aircraft carriers with around 150 fighter jets were
conducting warfare drills in the Philippine Sea, a show of force in
waters south of China and within striking distance of North Korea.
TAKING SIDES
Pence told reporters in Singapore that he had been struck in
conversations with world leaders by "the connection that President
Trump has made" with them through his vision for a free and open
Indo-Pacific.
However, analysts say that countries across Asia are waiting for the
United States to put substance behind its Indo-Pacific rhetoric, and
Trump's absence from the summits only served to heighten concerns
among Southeast Asian states that Washington no longer has their
back.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday it was
"very desirable" for ASEAN not to have to take sides with world
powers, but there may come a time when it would "have to choose one
or the other."
Some Southeast Asian nations may be quietly impressed by the United
States' robust approach to Beijing on trade, intellectual property
issues and the South China Sea, but others have made it clear they
already see China's rise as inevitable.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, asked on Thursday about the
U.S. Navy drills, noted that China already occupies contested South
China Sea islands and added: "Why do you have to create frictions
... that will prompt a response from China?."
But Cook said Southeast Asian states' hedging and unwillingness to
publicly criticize Chinese aggression have contributed to
Washington's posture shift in Asia.
"This change is certainly not all because of Trump," he said. "The
choices of Southeast Asian states in the end bear some
responsibility."
(Additional reporting by John Geddie and Aradhana Aravindan in
Singapore, Jeff Mason and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by
Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alex Richardson)
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