Why Trump’s no-show at Asia summits wasn’t all bad: it helped countries focus on the substance of U.S. foreign policy
- Vice-President Mike Pence was able to articulate America’s Indo-Pacific strategy clearly, without late-night tweets as distractions
It was a rarity in the era of US President Donald Trump – a diplomatic summit season in Asia where the iconoclast, late-night tweeting leader was not the one providing the high drama.
Within Washington’s think tank circles, there had been some bellyaching that the president’s decision to dispatch Mike Pence as a stand-in for him would hurt American diplomacy in the region – especially with China’s top leaders gracing these events.
But as Pence returned to the American capital on Sunday after visits to Japan, Singapore and Papua New Guinea, some observers here in Asia say the United States may actually have gained from Trump’s absence, as regional leaders who did not have to deal with his erratic behaviour instead focused their attention on the substance of Washington’s foreign policy.
There was some drama, of course, with the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders gathered in Port Moresby on Sunday unable to issue a joint communiqué because of deep US-China divisions on trade.
But that was expected, and had little to do with Pence himself – who largely impressed in what one observer said was the “most substantive” diplomatic outing in Asia for an American leader in years.