TRUMP’S TOUR OF ASIAN COUNTRIES

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump will travel to Asia in November for the first time since becoming President, in a tour planned to “confront the North Korean threat”.

The President has been applying pressure on his allies in the region to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea in the face of a series of missile tests conducted by Pyongyang.

He will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, attending two major summits, the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conclave in the Philippines.

Trump’s attendance at the Manila summit had been in doubt until recent days, with officials saying he was reluctant to show support for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been responsible for a number of anti-american outbursts. A US official said Asian leaders who met the President at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week helped persuade him to attend in unity with key Asian allies.

An Asian diplomat welcomed Trump’s decision to visit Manila “because that reassures the region that Asia policy is not just about North Korea, it’s about Southeast Asia as well.” The diplomat said the US’ decision to withdraw from the Trans-pacific Partnership trade deal early this year had raised questions about the administration’s commitment to the region.

But visits by senior officials, including the secretaries of state, defense and commerce, and Trump’s planned trip, showed Washington intended to remain engaged.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Duterte was looking forward to meeting the US President, adding that the relationship between the two countries was so resilient that ties would always recover, regardless of disagreements.

Trump, who has been locked in an increasingly bitter war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will have the opportunity to bolster allied resolve for what he calls the “complete denuclearisation” of Pyongyang.