US President Barack Obama sought yesterday to reassure Asia-Pacific allies about Washington’s strategic shift toward the region as he sent a veiled message to China with a vow to “deepen our engagement using every element of our power.”
Speaking at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he is attending a G20 summit, Obama insisted that Asia’s security order must not be based on “coercion or intimidation ... where big nations bully the small, but on alliances for mutual security.”
Although Obama did not explicitly point the finger at China, there was little doubt that he was alluding to Beijing’s maritime disputes with its neighbors and growing concern in the region about its military build-up.
Photo: AFP
“No one should ever question our resolve or our commitments to our allies,” he said.
Obama, who visited Beijing for an Asia-Pacific summit this week and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), sought to show renewed resolve to follow through on his much-touted “pivot” to the region, involving military, diplomatic and economic assets.
The policy is widely seen as intended to counter China’s rising influence, although Obama, at a news conference with Xi earlier in the week, denied there was any desire to contain Beijing.
However, many in Asia are looking for further proof that the policy is real, especially with Obama’s agenda dominated by crises ranging from the battle against Islamic State militants and the conflict in Ukraine, to the spread of Ebola.
Obama made clear that in addition to security, Washington is determined to expand trade, a goal underscored by efforts to forge a trans-Pacific trade partnership in difficult negotiations that so far exclude China.
However, even as Obama hailed the region’s “dynamism,” he warned of potential threats.
“We see dangers that could undermine this progress,” he said, citing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, disputes over territory that threaten to spiral into confrontation and the failure to uphold universal human rights.
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS