On Asia: Remembering Obama and Moving towards Trump

REMEMBERING OBAMA NAPOLEON ONCE WARNED THE WORLD THAT “CHINA IS A SLEEPING GIANT. Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will move the world.” This prediction became eerily true, especially in recent years. Ever since the West imparted the Open Door Policy in China during the late 19th century, forcing it to open its trade markets, China has ballooned in wealth and geopolitical influence.

Former President Obama recognized this and was well known for his “Pivot to Asia” policy that became a focal landmark foreign policy initiative of his 2012 administration. In addition to China, President Obama attempted to establish healthy relationships with Southeast Asia as well as maintain a positive relationship with US ally Japan.

Perhaps the most enduring achievement of this policy lies in Obama’s reconstruction of US foreign policy towards the ASEAN countries, which include Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and more. To accomplish this, he joined the East Asian Summit, hosted by ASEAN, thus establishing a joint US-ASEAN conference. Since then, the United States has improved relations with nearly every ASEAN country with the exception of Thailand given their political instability.

The pitfall of the pivot to Asia policy had been Obama’s inability to get closer to China. Since his reelection, Obama failed on multiple fronts. First, the good part. He did succeed in conceiving the Paris Climate Deal, largely because he was able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to cooperate on a US-China landmark clean energy bill, reducing the gas emissions of both countries by an ambitious twenty-eight percent by the year 2025. However, this bill had not turned into success elsewhere.

The United States’ growing commitment to Southeast Asia came into conflict when China began escalating tensions in the highly debated South China Sea, an area that many countries claim to own. President Obama attempted to stay neutral in the affair, but the US’s last resort guarantor of the ASEAN countries contributed to growing US-China tensions. Another issue that assisted this divide is the widely controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which included many Asian countries and the US but specifically excluded China.

Ultimately, Obama’s legacy when it comes to Asia will be a rocky one and something that President Trump will have to address with. Trump has already declared himself a victor with his “monumental” building of diplomatic relations with North Korea that have culminated in future peace talks. However, there are a number of things that first have to be taken into account to truly call these efforts a “success.”

First, North Korea has to actually dismantle its nuclear program. A recent CNN article reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency found that even despite Trump’s peace efforts, North Korea has not slowed down its nuclear building. Furthermore, North Korea has since stopped shutting down its missile testing site, a crucial promise that has already been broken. Trump has ironically fallen into the same trap that he has criticized previous presidents like Obama for such as making major concessions in exchange for empty promises and small improvements.

Another area that Trump can be criticized on is his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Previously, the US President had spoken many times about his great relationship with the Chinese leader, citing their collaboration on toning down the North Korean threat. However, recently President Trump accused China of undermining his prospects in upcoming elections, causing a rift in the two’s relationship. When asked at a press conference about what he thought of Xi Jinping, Trump stated that ”he may not be a friend of mine anymore but I think he probably respects me.” To exacerbate this issue, Washington further enacted new tariffs against Chinese imports totalling over $200 billion, with China immediately responding with $60 billion of its own, almost half of the $130 billion that it imports already.

Starting a trade war with China and giving in to North Korea’s questionable demands is a harsh mark on Trump’s foreign policy record. If by the end of his presidency he wants to be remembered as a president that truly made America great again, he should seek to start by rectifying the problems that he has just created.