The 2016 Presidential Campaigns on Asia tracker highlighted mentions of Asia Pacific issues by US presidential candidates and nominees in speeches, campaign documents, and debates.
2016 US Presidential Campaigns on Asia
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Tim Kaine on North Korea
“Recent provocations by the North Koreans, including the ballistic missile launch and nuclear tests, violate numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a significant threat to both the United States and our allies in the region. I’m proud to join nearly all of my Senate colleagues in supporting legislation to sanction this rogue regime and give the Obama administration additional tools to confront this growing threat.” [Source] Statement While Serving as Senator of Virginia. February 10, 2016
*"Kim Jong Un’s…
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Mike Pence on North Korea
“Well, first, we need to -- we need to make a commitment to rebuild our military, including modernizing our nuclear forces. And we also need -- we also need an effective American diplomacy that will marshal the resources of nations in the Asian Pacific Rim to put pressure on North Korea, on Kim Jong-un, to abandon his nuclear ambitions. It has to remain the policy of the United States of America the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, plain and simple.”
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Mike Pence on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
“Throughout my career […] I have strongly supported free trade in measures that came before the Congress and when I was asked to support free trade initiatives as governor of Indiana. I supported them. But, frankly, we are on the verge of electing one of the best negotiators in the world as president of the United States of America and as Donald and I sat down and talked early on he talked to me about questioning the wisdom of these multi-country trade agreements, that when…
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Tim Kaine on the South China Sea
"I was encouraged to see the final ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the case of the Philippines v. China over competing claims in the South China Sea. Today’s decision at The Hague demonstrates that existing international frameworks like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) are relevant and even more critical in today’s complex security environment; they provide a forum for resolving disputes responsibly and peacefully." [Source] Statement While Serving as Virginia Senator. July…
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Tim Kaine on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
“Fast track was to give President Obama the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that every president since Gerald Ford has had, and of course I voted for that. Why would I not give to this president the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that other presidents have had? [Senator Kaine was one of 13 Democratic Senators that voted to give President Obama Trade Promotion Athority]” [Source] Interview with The Intercept While Serving as Senator for Virginia. July 21…
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Tim Kaine on Asia Pacific Allies and Partners
“It was an honor to hear Prime Minister Modi’s vision for India before a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol today. With the strategic importance of the U.S.-India relationship growing every year, I’ve been encouraged by increased cooperation on defense issues between our two countries, including the ongoing discussions regarding aircraft carrier technology. As we continue to foster stability and combat terrorism in the Indo-Asia Pacific region, continued collaboration and expansion of multilateral exercises with our regional partners will be absolutely critical. I…
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Donald Trump on Asia Pacific Allies and Partners
"So the young man from North Korea starts acting up and having one of his fits, we immediately get our ships going. We get our aircraft. We get nothing for this...I'm not saying that we're going to let anything happen to them. But [South Korea has] to help us.: [Source] NBC's Meet the Press Interview. August 16, 2015
"If somebody attacks Japan, we have to immediately go and start World War III, OK? If we get attacked, Japan doesn't have…
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Donald Trump on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
"The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an attack on America's business. It does not stop Japan's currency manipulation. This is a bad deal." [Source] Twitter. April 22, 2015
“I’m a free trader. But the problem with free trade is you need really talented people to negotiate for you. If you don’t have talented people, if you don’t have great leadership, if you don’t have people that know business, not just a political hack that got the job because he made a contribution to…
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Donald Trump on North Korea
“Well, first of all, it's not only Russia. We have problems with North Korea where they actually have nuclear weapons. You know, nobody talks about it, we talk about Iran, and that's one of the worst deals ever made. One of the worst contracts ever signed, ever, in anything, and it's a disgrace. But, we have somebody over there, a madman, who already has nuclear weapons we don't talk about that. That's a problem.” [Source] 4th Republican Debate. November 10, 2015
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Hillary Clinton on the Rebalance to Asia
"The rebalancing to Asia, otherwise known as 'the pivot,' was in response to the very real sense of abandonment that Asian leaders expressed to me. And my phone calls to them before I ever went to the region in February of 2009, you know, they believed that because we were so focused in Afghanistan and we were so focused in Iraq, and obviously had to be given all that we had invested there, that we were just not paying attention to the developments in Asia…
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Hillary Clinton on Asia Pacific Allies and Partners
"We had hundreds of thousands of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our best allies and friends in Europe and Asia were really put out with us because of the way they'd been treated by the Bush administration and were very skeptical that the United States was a good ally any longer and wanted to lead the world toward peace, prosperity and security. I spent so much of my time getting back the confidence and the trust of our friends and allies around the world."…
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Hillary Clinton on the South China Sea
“We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges. We've got challenges in the South China Sea because of what China is doing in building up these military installations. We have problems with Russia. Just the other day, Russia allowed a television camera to see the…