Obamarama in Asia
This week’s trip by Barack Obama to Asia was quite a guided tour, taking in Tokyo, Singapore, The Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China and Seoul. And according to the AP – yes, he’s beaten a record. The most travelled first year president, visiting some 16 countries – perhaps that’s why/because (*delete where applicable) his poll rating’s have slipped back home!
JAPAN
Tokyo was clearly an important first stop. Yukio Hatoyama is the new Japanese PM. He is a different political colour to his predecessor Taro Aso. The first non Liberal Democratic Party leader for some considerable time.
There were two main reasons this was an important stop. First, Mr Hatoyama is less pro-American than his predecessors and this is one of the most strategically important bilateral relations in American Foreign Policy. Thousands of US Army and Navy personnel are located in Southern Japan.
In the 1980s Washington’s Ambassador in Tokyo described the relationship as the ‘world’s most important bilateral relationship’. This week – that honour moved to China.
The Tokyo stopover though was also chance to court the leader of China’s only real regional challenger. In spite of flourishing rhetoric in Beijing, it’s important that China’s rise is controlled and President Obama will hope Japan can help act as a counter weight.
SINGAPORE
Given the times we live in – it must have been quite a moment for the leaders of the East Asian tigers in Singapore. Listening to the man whose banks helped start the world’s first truly global financial crisis; it must have been quite a relief from the lectures of the US to APEC members when the dot.com bubble burst.
It was also a chance for President Obama to sit down at a table with the leader of the ruling military junta of Burma, Than Shwe.
SHANGHAI & BEIJING
Let’s face it – the US has only one major rival – and it is China. Whether China’s rise is peaceful is one thing but the economic consequences are undeniable. China still has a long way to go until it matches the US weight, power and influence but they are already calling this relationship – the Group of 2.
China has invested heavily in US bonds and therefore wants the American economy to rally as much as the Obama government. The Americans complain that the Yuan is unfairly pegged to the dollar and is devalued and there are worries about inflation or a drop in the value of the dollar.
Human rights did appear, including a message about the Great Firewall of China. But if Tibetan’s hoped for more enlightenment from the 44th President, they will have been disappointed. Whilst President Obama acknowledged the need for dialogue, he clearly said he saw Tibet as being part of the Chinese People’s Republic.
In a room somewhere in Beijing – Green campaigners waved goodbye to the critical agreement needed to make next month’s Copenhagen climate summit worthwhile. Washington’s Ambassador to Beijing insisting though that progress was made on using clean ‘energy’.
THE KOREAN PENINSULA
King Jong-Il managed to keep his missiles down this week – no antics on the Korean Peninsula as the cavalcade came to town in Seoul.
Once more trade was the issue here – President Lee Myung-Bak keen to make progress on a free-trade agreement and also shore up relations in the light of the increased threat posed by Pyongyang.
More is likely in the month ahead, when envoy Stephen Bosworth travels to Pyongyang. It’s conjecture but possibly something Bill Clinton laid the groundwork for when he visited the DPRK to rescue two imprisoned American Journalists earlier this year.
And as for the picture opportunity of the trip – you might think it was the Great Wall… but for me it has to be the picture of the world’s most powerful man, bowing deeply in the presence of Emperor Akhitio and his wife. I still can’t believe that such a gesture provoked such outrage back in the US.
So was it a successful trip in your opinion? Was Obama outspoken enough on human rights in China? Is America’s economy likely to recover quicker as a result of the trip? What’s the deal with the bow?
