Trump’s Asia Tour
This week, President Trump and his wife Melania have been on a twelve-day, five-nation tour of Asia. This has been the president’s longest foreign trip to date. Included on the itinerary are stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Here, btw takes a look at some of the highlights of the visit.
Japan
Trump began his trip in Hawaii, where he laid a wreath at the monument at Pearl Harbor, before flying out to Japan and meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He also gave a harsh speech to Japanese business owners, accusing them of unfair business practices.
Donald Trump’s big Asia trip took him to Japan as well as other nations in Asia. Credit: Pontus Edenberg/Alamy Stock Photo
While in Japan, Trump received some unwanted attention for some cultural missteps. For example, in an episode now jokingly referred to as “koi-gate,” Trump dumped an entire box of fish food into the Emperor’s koi pond. He also began his visit by sitting down to a hamburger lunch with Abe, which many saw as disrespectful to Japanese food and culture. More importantly, he neglected to visit the Hiroshima Memorial.
South Korea
As Trump wrapped up his visit here, he warned North Korea not to underestimate the United States, and that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s plan to continue developing nuclear weapons was putting their country in great danger. North Korea has responded by saying that nothing will stop them from continuing to pursue their nuclear weapons program. North Korean leaders also accused President Trump of aggressively pushing for war.
Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea conducting a joint naval drill off the coast of the Korean Peninsula. This, too, was viewed by the North Korean regime as an aggressive move.
China
Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Trump took several chances to blame China for unfair trade practices, or to accuse the Chinese of inventing the idea of global warming. This recent visit, however, seems to have done much to repair relations between the two countries. Trump stated that he doesn’t blame China for the trade deficit. The president announced the signing of $250 billion in commercial deals between U.S. and Chinese firms. In exchange, China agreed to be more open and transparent in its foreign business dealings. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said that he was excited about a new era of positive communications between the two countries and that he believes that cooperation is the only way forward.
At the same time, Trump also encouraged China to immediately cut all financial ties to North Korea, saying that they could end North Korea’s nuclear threat if they did so.
Vietnam
In a speech in Vietnam, Trump highlighted the threat of North Korea and encouraged Asian nations to take a stand against Kim Jong-Un in order to protect their own safety. While in Vietnam, Trump also met briefly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss their plan to work together to combat ISIS forces in Syria.