US VP Pence to tour Asia next month

JAKARTA: US Vice– President Mike Pence will visit Indonesia next month, sources said yesterday, as part of what a Japanese magazine said was an Asian tour amid concerns the Trump administration is rolling back Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia”.

US President Donald Trump has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which was seen as an economic pillar of the strategy.

Pence is also expected to visit Japan, South Korea, and Australia, the Nikkei Asian Review reported, with North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes and China’s expansion in the South China Sea likely topics for discussion.

The visit comes after North Korea’s latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother added urgency to the region’s security.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population and has recently grappled with a series of low-level militant attacks inspired by Islamic State.

Indonesia’s chief security minister said Pence would meet President Joko Widodo to discuss terrorism and other security issues.

“We discussed the planned visit of US vice president Mike Pence to Indonesia and the strategic problems that can be on the agenda to discuss with our president,” chief security minister Wiranto told reporters after meeting the US ambassador to Jakarta.

He added that no dates had been finalised.

Pence’s Asia tour will follow this month’s trip by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Japan, South Korea, and China.