bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Laura Zhou

Viola Zhou

US President Donald Trump has again raised doubts about his country’s commitment to the region by opting abruptly to skip a full session of an Asian summit and head home.
Trump had been expected wrap up his marathon 12-day regional tour by attending the main session of the East Asia Summit in Manila on Tuesday, a gathering that was dominated by discussions on North Korea and trade.
But Trump left for home from the Philippines after a lunch with other state leaders because meetings were running about two hours late.
The US president said on Air Force One that he delivered his prepared remarks during the lunch instead of the summit meeting. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would attend the main session in his place, a senior White House official said.
Trump’s absence marked a stark contrast to the previous US administration of Barack Obama, which often reassured its allies of its commitment to the region.
Trump humbled in China as Beijing visit underlines the new world order in Asia
Xu Liping, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Trump probably skipped the summit because he did not think the US could benefit from close ties with the Southeast Asian nations represented at the gathering. The East Asia Summit draws leaders from 18 countries – the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the dialogue partners of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.
“It was a practical step for Trump,” Xu said. “Now there is a big question mark over his attendance at future meetings of Asean.”
Xu said Trump’s lack of interest in Southeast Asia would likely force Asean nations to look to other powers to contain China.
“The strategy of balancing China through the US is losing its effectiveness. Countries may strengthen their ties with India or Japan to make up for the US’ waning role,” he said.

Those most affected by the diminishing US presence would be states such as Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia, which had relied heavily on the balance between China and the United States, Xu said.
Liu Weidong, a US affairs expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the last-minute cancellation, a rare call from a state leader, suggested Asian issues were low on Trump’s diplomatic agenda.
“Whatever the reason was, it showed Trump did not attach much importance to Asean,” Liu said. “But since Trump often acts surprisingly, people are more likely to forgive him.”
Wary China on ‘Quad’ bloc watch after officials from US, Japan, India and Australia meet on Asean sidelines
Despite Trump’s indifference, a strong Washington establishment would push for his administration to maintain the US’ presence in the region, Liu said.
“Trump only cares about short-term interests, but the establishment will not allow him to withdraw the US from Asia,” he said. “Even if the US decides to cut its involvement, China does not have enough influence to fill the gap. Asean countries are sceptical of China in terms of security.”
Despite the early exit, Trump described his tour as “fantastic”, saying he made “a lot of friends at the highest level” and the trip generated at least US$300 billion in deals for the US, mostly with China.
“We’ve explained that the United States is open for trade but we want reciprocal, we want fair trade for the United States,” he said.

Earlier in Vietnam, Trump said he would still stick to his “America first” approach, claiming other countries in the region had thrived at the expense of the US.
Those leaders who did attend the East Asia Summit focused on North Korea, the South China Sea and trade.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday that China agreed to start talks with Asean on the fine print of a code of conduct framework for the disputed waters, saying it would be a “stabiliser” for the region.
South China Sea calm not taken for granted by Asean nations, summit draft says
On Tuesday night, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte described China as gracious in agreeing to start the negotiations. He said China had agreed that access to waterways and airspace in the South China Sea would be “unbridled” and “unfettered”.
Duterte also said North Korea’s missile tests were a concern for every leader at the summit. Pyongyang, he said, was “toying” with bombs.
Duterte said nobody could afford to go to war either in the South China Sea or over North Korea.
“We can’t fight or start a war, with the North Korea crisis looming ahead, there are dark clouds ... We’d better pray,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, heads of 16 countries involved in a regional trade deal known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership met for the first time to give momentum to the deal. But the agreement is still up in the air, with Japan managing to pull 11 member countries to sign the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which the US has withdrawn from.


Trump’s dance, Najib’s 1MDB saga, influencer case: Malaysia leads Asean in 2025

Thailand, Cambodia sign new ceasefire deal to end deadly border clashes

China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

Thailand election 2025: caretaker PM Anutin officially joins ‘consequential’ February poll

Asean

Donald Trump’s early East Asia Summit exit casts doubt over US ties to Asia

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to return home from Manila in the Philippines on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

epa06328076 (L-R) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ASEAN Secretary General Le Loung Minh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson (representing US President Donald Trump), New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during a photo session for the East Asia Summit in Manila, Philippines, 14 November 2017. The Philippines is hosting the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings from 10 to 14 November. EPA-EFE/BULLIT MARQUEZ / POOL

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hold hands as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte prepares to walk to chair his meeting of the East Asia Summit or EAS at the ongoing 31st ASEAN Summit November 14, 2017 in Manila, Philippines. REUTERS/Bullit Marquez/Pool

News

China

Diplomacy

US president does a sudden about-turn and heads home, leaving question mark over his attendance at future regional meetings, analyst says


South China Sea

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s early East Asia Summit exit casts doubt over US ties to Asia

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president does a sudden about-turn and heads home, leaving question mark over his attendance at future regional meetings, analyst says

US president does a sudden about-turn and heads home, leaving question mark over his attendance at future regional meetings, analyst says