Trump’s Asian tour

President Donald Trump’s 11-day trip to Asia, starting next week, will include stops in China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, including attendance at summits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations organizations. The general focus will be what to do about North Korea’s nuclear rocket-rattling in the region, his promises to the American electorate about negotiating better trade arrangements, and a wide assortment of bilateral issues with the leaders of the individual countries.

Some of the issues are exceptionally complicated. Russia, for example, is a member of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It is unknown whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the summit, to be held in Vietnam, although it is quite possible he will, given the good relations that exist between Russia and Vietnam and that Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to be there as well.

Myanmar, pounding its Rohingya minority and having driven hundreds of thousands of them into Bangladesh in appalling conditions, is a member of ASEAN; its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, may attend the summit; and discussion of the human rights aspects of that country’s treatment of its Muslim minority with whomever represents it would be difficult for Trump to avoid.

The Philippines will host the ASEAN conference. Its president, Rodrigo Duterte, has an appalling humanitarian record, has openly criticized Trump and America in vulgar terms, and a potential confrontation between Trump and him will loom, with close media attention.