US President Barack Obama is hopscotching through China’s neighborhood with a carefully calibrated message trying both to counter and court Beijing.
During visits to US allies, Obama has signaled that US military power can blunt Chinese aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, even as he urges Beijing to use its growing clout to help resolve international disputes with Russia and North Korea.
The dual-track message underscores Beijing’s outsized importance to Obama’s four-country tour of Asia, even though China is absent from his itinerary.
Following stops in Japan and South Korea, and ahead of a visit to the Philippines, the US president on Saturday started his long-awaited visit to Malaysia.
Yesterday, Obama padded through the National Mosque of Malaysia in black socks after removing his shoes in keeping with protocol and stopped for a few moments to bow his head in the mausoleum, where two former Malaysian prime ministers and two former deputy prime ministers are buried.
He later met privately with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at his residence.
Obama’s trip comes at a tense time for the region, as China’s aggressive stance in territorial disputes has its smaller neighbors on edge.
There also are continued questions about the White House’s commitment to a greater US focus on Asia. In an affirmation of the US’ commitment to the region, Obama is to sign a pact with Manila today clearing the way for an increased US troop presence in the Philippines.
In Tokyo, Obama said that a treaty obligating the US to defend Japan would apply if Beijing makes a move on the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea, which Japan administers under the name the Senkakus, but which are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Yet at times, Obama has tempered his tough talk in an attempt to avoid antagonizing China.
To Japan’s chagrin, Obama said the US would not take sides in the sovereignty claims at the heart of the region’s territorial disputes.
He has repeatedly said that the US is not asking Asian allies to choose between a relationship with Washington and one with Beijing.
“I think there’s enormous opportunities for trade, development, working on common issues like climate change with China,” Obama said at a news conference in Tokyo. “But what we’ve also emphasized — and I will continue to emphasize throughout this trip — is that all of us have responsibilities to help maintain basic rules of the road and an international order.”
US officials see Russia’s actions in Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear threats as tests of China’s willingness to take on more responsibility in enforcing global norms.
Cut off from most of the world, North Korea is deeply dependent on Chinese trade and assistance, giving Beijing enormous leverage over Pyongyang. The US and its allies, including South Korea, have pressed China to wield that influence more aggressively as the North threatens to launch a fourth nuclear test.
Beijing has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and has backed some efforts to penalize North Korea, but has not taken unilateral action.
Similarly, the crisis in Ukraine has again put Obama in the position of asking China to prioritize international order over its own close relationship with Moscow.
China and Russia often join forces to counter the West, but in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, the Obama administration has sought to temper Beijing’s support for Putin by appealing to China’s traditional aversion to foreign meddling in domestic affairs.
The White House has little hope that Beijing will abandon the Kremlin and join Western nations in levying sanctions on Moscow. However, US officials are hoping China will at least avoid making overt gestures of support for Russia’s actions.
Analysts say Obama can maintain a China policy that looks to Beijing for help while simultaneously trying to counter its rise, but only if the dividing line between those positions remains clear.
“If you are consistent, they’ll be willing to have you push them occasionally on things that are sensitive or where there are areas of dispute,” Chris Johnson, a China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of Beijing’s leaders.
China will factor into Obama’s upcoming meetings in Southeast Asia, given that Beijing has territorial disputes with Malaysia and the Philippines. Obama had planned to visit both countries in October last year, but canceled the trip due to a partial government shutdown.
Obama’s arrival in Malaysia on Saturday nights was feted by the country’s royal family at a state dinner. He was to meet with young Southeast Asian leaders yesterday, but conspicuously absent from his itinerary is a meeting with opposition leader and former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who presents the most potent political threat to Najib.
The US spurned calls from human rights groups for Obama to meet Anwar and sent US National Security Advisor Susan Rice instead.
Anwar was recently convicted for the second time on sodomy charges many say are politically motivated. He is appealing, but faces jail time and the forfeit of his parliamentary seat if he loses.
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