This resource tracked statements, developments, visits, and other interactions in US-Indo-Pacific relations under the President Trump administration. Special focus was given to the comments and activities of President Donald J. Trump; Vice President Mike Pence; United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Jr.; former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; former Secretary of Defense James Mattis; and former Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper.
The Trump Administration & US - Indo-Pacific Relations
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Secretary Pompeo Briefing with the Traveling Press - China
"QUESTION: Well, so you’ve talked about sharing the values – getting them to lean into the West, et cetera – but it sounded like the prime minister of Croatia was talking a lot about China. He wasn’t exactly rejecting China. So how did you feel that that message is getting through to him? He mentioned that both Greece and Croatia were part of the China Plus.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Just go look at what the European countries are saying today compared to what they were saying…
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Secretary Pompeo With Amy Kellogg of FOX News - China
"QUESTION: But let me ask you how it went. You’re fresh from the Vatican. How did it go this morning with the cardinals? What progress did you make?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Look, we had a constructive discussion. We have a shared objective. The Chinese Communist Party is behaving in ways that are reminiscent of what’s only happened in centuries past in terms of human rights violations. We’ve watched them oppress not only Muslim Uyghurs but Christians, Catholics, Falun Gong, people of all faiths. I know that…
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Secretary Pompeo and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio at a Press Availability - China
"[SECRETARY POMPEO:] Recovering from the virus should also mean accountability for the Chinese Communist Party, as I urged today, and its blatant cover-up attempts that have led to the deaths of more than 1 million people, and an enormous loss – trillions of dollars of economic wealth – and the terrible situation it’s put ordinary families all across the world.
To that end, the foreign minister and I had a long conversation about the United States concerns that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to…
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Secretary Pompeo's Remarks at the Holy See Symposium on Advancing and Defending Religious Freedom Through Diplomacy
"[...] Nowhere, however – nowhere is religious freedom under assault more than it is inside of China today. That’s because, as with all communist regimes, the Chinese Communist Party deems itself the ultimate moral authority.
An increasingly repressive CCP, frightened by its own lack of democratic legitimacy, works day and night to snuff out the lamp of freedom, especially religious freedom, on a horrifying scale.
I spoke on this topic last year for a bit, and I paid special attention last year to the Uyghur…
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Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Japanese National Security Secretariat Secretary General Shigeru Kitamura
"Today, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met with the Japanese National Security Secretariat Secretary General Shigeru Kitamura in Washington, D.C. Secretary Pompeo congratulated Secretary General Kitamura on his re-appointment as Secretary General following Prime Minister Suga’s election on September 16. Secretary Pompeo and Secretary General Kitamura reaffirmed that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific."
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Secretary Pompeo's Remarks on China During a Meeting with State Legislatures in Wisconsin
"As Americans across the country were dealing with the pandemic that was released from Wuhan, they’ve been worried about their lives, their livelihoods. Senator Roth got an email from Wu Ting, a person who was in the consul at China’s consulate in Chicago – it landed in his email inbox.
Ms. Wu stated that she was “responsible for China-Wisconsin relations.”
The email included a draft resolution that she asked the Senator to pass – in this chamber – praising China’s response to the coronavirus.
I…
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Secretary Pompeo With Larry O’Connor of the Larry O’Connor Show/WMAL - China
"QUESTION: Can you expand on that? I just played a little audio of your remarks yesterday, and you said that the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies aims to make Americans receptive to Beijing’s form of authoritarianism. Can you expand on that?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So this is precisely the risk the President has identified when we talk about disinformation and Chinese influence here, Chinese Communist Party influence here in the United States. We saw a glaring example when it came to the Wuhan virus, right…
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Secretary Pompeo With Tony Perkins of Value Voters Summit - China
"QUESTION: I want to wrap up our time together by returning to the issue of China. Recently you had made the comment that the world has awakened to the threat Beijing poses to international security and the global economy. When we see what’s happened with the coronavirus, when we see the fact that they’re working even into the – not in only Latin America, but even here in the United States, to undermine America’s republic.
SECRETARY POMPEO: I’ll give you an example. Tomorrow I’m going…
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Palau Independence Day
"On behalf of the Government of the United States and the American people, I congratulate the government and the citizens of Palau as you mark your 26th Independence Day.
The close friendship between our two countries remains firmly rooted in a foundation of respect for democratic principles, human rights, and the underlying fundamental freedoms to which all are entitled. While October 1st marks the beginning of Palau’s 26th year of independence, the ties between our two countries have a much deeper shared history.
The bond…
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Remarks by President Trump to the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly - China
"As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China.
In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world. China condemned my travel ban on their country, even as they cancelled domestic flights and locked citizens in their homes.
The Chinese government and the World Health Organization — which is virtually controlled by China — falsely declared that there was no evidence…