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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – Mike Pence will represent President Donald Trump at a number of international gatherings this week in Asia, a region in which the United States is increasingly doubtful about its commitment and coherence.
The Vice President traveled to Tokyo, Singapore and Papua New Guinea to reassure allies about US policy towards Asia.
In doing so, his main problem is that he is not the president.
Mr. Trump, by choosing to avoid the meetings organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a meeting of the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Group set up this week, has become the first US president to not be present since 2013, while President Barack Obama canceled his visit to face a government shutdown.
The absence of the president leaves it to Mr. Pence to fill a growing void under Trump, who has concluded a major trade deal with the Pacific, imposed tariff restrictions on allies and intensified the diplomatic and economic battle with the United States. China.
Mr. Pence will have to make important announcements to overcome the growing skepticism about the Trump Administration's commitment to Asia, said Mr. Anthony Nelson, Director of the East Asia and Pacific Group of the United States. Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington.
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"It is disappointing that President Trump has not made a commitment to come," said Nelson, former director of the US-Asean Business Council.
"Pence can try to say the right things, but without anything concrete that he can offer, it is hard to believe that he will not be eclipsed by what everyone knows, thinks". administration."
Mr. Pence has the full support of the President and plans to announce several new initiatives during his one – week trip, according to a senior administration official. They include bilateral, trilateral and perhaps more important initiatives covering the digital economy, energy and infrastructure, said the official, who informed the journalists of the anonymity.
As a high representative of the world's largest economy, Mr. Pence will have an audience with several world leaders interested in learning more about US policy.
The vice president begins his trip with meetings and a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday 13 November.
Mr. Pence is also scheduled to meet with the Prime Ministers of Singapore, India, Australia and Papua New Guinea.
SPEECH CHINA
Many of these leaders will ensure that Mr. Pence meets with Chinese government officials after the Vice President – who rarely makes public appearances – scandalized China in a 4 October speech that resounded in the region.
In a speech to the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington, Pence accused Beijing of putting in place a "whole-of-government approach" to influence the American public, try to meddle in the US elections, steal intellectual property and commit human rights violations.
Pence will attend Asian summits alongside Chinese leaders only days before Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires.
This highly anticipated meeting comes after months of escalating antagonism between the world's two largest economies, engaged in a growing trade war marked by exaggerated tariffs.
Announcing Pence's trip, spokeswoman Alyssa Farah made an implicit reference to China, saying the vice president would have harsh words to address in Beijing on issues such as trade and militarization in the sea from South China.
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Mr. Pence intends to "convey the message that the United States will not tolerate authoritarianism, aggression and contempt for the sovereignty of other nations in the Indo-Pacific," Ms. Farah in a statement.
For his part, Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese products in early 2019 if no agreement was reached with Xi before.
Mr. Pence's trip to Asia and his meetings with Chinese officials could set the tone for Mr. Trump's meeting with Xi.
But as Trump is known to have undermined his administration's foreign policy members, Pence may face a difficult battle to convince regional leaders that he is speaking on behalf of the president.
The mercurial nature of the Trump administration is well known throughout the region, said Dr. Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Beijing Renmin University.
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Mr. Pence's attempt to reassure the Allies of US engagement in the region will likely be thwarted by some images from the summits, said Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Advisor of the Center for Strategic and International Studies of the United States. Washington.
When the leaders gather for the "family photo", the vice president will probably be relegated to a less important position, while the heads of state – including Chinese Xi – will be at the center of the stage, said Dr. Cha, director of the office for Asia Affairs at the National Security Council under the George W. Bush administration.
"It's just a very bad lens when we do not show up," he said. "They do small things, but the general message will be that there is a lack of interest, and this is not a priority, and it is not good."
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