The five-nation Asia tour by President Donald Trump would be an important trip that would reflect on US’ commitment to meet the challenges posed by North Korea’s nuclear breakout and China’s bid for regional hegemony, according to a media report.
Trump has left the White House on a 13-day trip during which he will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The trip is not only Trump’s longest foreign trip as the US president but also the longest trip undertaken by a US president to Asia in more than a quarter-century.
“His meetings and speeches will send a message, for good or ill, about the US commitment to meet the challenges of North Korea’s nuclear breakout and China’s bid for regional hegemony,” the daily said in a lead editorial.
Tensions have dramatically risen on the Korean peninsula after North Korea, early in September, conducted its biggest nuclear test, which its state-run KCNA news agency described as a hydrogen bomb.
The report said Japan, Australia and India are moving toward a quadrilateral alliance with the US that could become the cornerstone of the Indo-Pacific vision.
The rationale is obvious, it argued.
“Constraints on US defence spending limit any military buildup, while China’s military budget continues to grow even faster than its economy. Asia’s Pax Americana needs to evolve into a collective defence regime among the region’s democracies,” it said.
