US President Barack Obama was sworn into office on Sunday for a second four-year term that is not expected to contain any major changes in tone or policy toward Asia.
With US first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia as witnesses, the president took the oath in the Blue Room of the White House using a family bible. It was a small and quiet ceremony — conducted by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts — without speeches or hoopla.
A huge public inauguration, with nearly 1 million spectators and costing US$170 million, was to take place yesterday on the steps of the US Capitol.
Obama was set to use the globally televised event to deliver a short inaugural address laying out goals for his second term.
Specific policies — including stricter gun control, new immigration laws and a plan to deal with the looming deficit — will be detailed in Obama’s State of the Union speech before both houses of the US Congress on Feb. 12.
It is at that time he will mention policies affecting China and Taiwan, but they are unlikely to differ in any significant way from the past four years.
White House insiders say that the US administration will remain supportive of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) efforts to ease tensions with China and improve cross-strait relations.
“We will continue to work to strengthen US-Taiwan relations,” one of Obama’s foreign policy advisers said.
There will be new efforts to build a more cooperative relationship with China, but objectives — military, economic, diplomatic and security — will remain the same.
Top members of Obama’s team — US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell — will leave the administration in the next few weeks.
However, while their replacements may bring changes in style and emphasis, they are unlikely to alter policies.
US Senator John Kerry, who has been nominated to take over as US secretary of state, is noted for his care and caution rather than bold new ideas and tactics.
Likewise, former US senator Chuck Hagel — nominated to be the next US secretary of defense — is more likely to be “steady” than imaginative.
While his nomination still faces some opposition, confirmation is near-certain.
US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs Mark Lippert — a member of Obama’s inner circle — is staying on.
Campbell’s replacement is not yet known, but former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia Michael Schiffer and former top Senate staffer Frank Jannuzi are both frequently mentioned for the job.
Regardless, the center of foreign policy power will remain in the White House with Obama and US Vice President Joe Biden making the big decisions themselves.
National Security Council (NSC) Adviser Tom Donilon is staying on for the second term and will continue to be a major influence as will be NSC Senior Director for Asia Danny Russel.
“Nothing about Obama’s choices to head his second-term foreign policy team suggests that major strategic changes are afoot,” former diplomat Joe Barnes said.
Barnes, now with the Baker Institute, believes that China will continue to present a “quandary” for US policymakers.
Writing in the Baker Institute Blog, he says China is both a trading partner and potential future rival.
“We may expect the Obama administration to continue what might be called a ‘hedging strategy’ that both emphasizes increased cooperation with Beijing and the cultivation of countries like India which might in the future serve as an important partner in constraining China’s ambitions,” he says.
Under the US Constitution, the president must take the oath of office on Jan. 20 — but when it falls on a Sunday, a small private ceremony is held in the White House and the big public event is held the next day.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from