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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Press Gaggle by Secretary Mattis - China
"This is my first trip to China, but it does follow two meeting with interlocutors last year. The first one was Mar-a-Lago, and the second one was in Washington, D.C. The first one was with President Xi, President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and our counterparts for secretary of state and myself. The second one was in Foggy Bottom, State Department, and that was what we call a two-plus-two, secretary of state, secretary of defense, and our counterparts from China. To the consultations, as you probably already…
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Press Gaggle by Secretary Mattis - South Korea
"After a couple of days there, we'll launch out of there, and we'll go into Seoul, where I'll meet with Minister of Defense Song, and perhaps other leaders, but Minister of Defense Song is my counterpart, Admiral Song, former admiral in the ROK, Republic of Korea Navy. We maintain very, very strong links between us, close and continuous consultation. The alliance is very strong. We share that commitment to protect our shared democratic values. That has come through loud and clear with the new administration…
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Remarks by President Trump at a Roundtable Discussion on Tax Reform
"But more importantly, our industry is coming back far faster than we thought. If other countries aren’t going to treat us with respect and aren’t going to treat us properly on trade — because they haven’t with these massive deficits that we have. The big one is a car tax. They send in cars into our country by the millions and millions and millions, and we pay — I mean, if we send cars to them, they either don’t want it or it’s a big…
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Secretary Mattis Press Statement on Military Exercises on the Korean Peninsula
"To support implementing the outcomes of the Singapore Summit, and in coordination with our Republic of Korea ally, Secretary Mattis has indefinitely suspended select exercises. This includes suspending FREEDOM GUARDIAN along with two Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises scheduled to occur in the next three months. In support of upcoming diplomatic negotiations led by Secretary Pompeo, additional decisions will depend upon the DPRK continuing to have productive negotiations in good faith."
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Secretary Ross's Remarks During National Security and Commercial Satellite Technology - China and India
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Presidential Message to the Congress of the United States
"The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula; the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea that destabilize the Korean Peninsula and imperil United States Armed Forces, allies, and trading partners in the region, including its pursuit of nuclear and missile programs; and other provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States…
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Secretary Pompeo Interview With Hugh Hewitt of MSNBC - Remarks on China
"It was very kind of him [Chinese President Xi Jinping] to visit with me. It was late one evening. I was returning to the United States but wanted to make sure and stop in. China will have an important role to play as we work our way through the challenging issue of denuclearizing North Korea, and I wanted to make sure and explain to them the conversations that the President had had with Chairman Kim, to make sure they understood what it was we needed…
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Secretary Pompeo Interview With Hugh Hewitt of MSNBC - Remarks on North Korea
"The conversations between the United States and North Korea have been bilateral talks, just the two of us. We are working to strike a deal, a deal that Chairman Kim has signed up for, where there will be a bargain where he will fully denuclearize, he will permit us to verify that complete denuclearization, and in exchange for that we’ll provide security assurances. You know the story well. For decades the North Korean leadership – Chairman Kim, his father and grandfather alike – believed the…
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Secretary Pompeo Interview With Hugh Hewitt of MSNBC - Remarks on Human Rights
"This administration has been very clear about defending human rights. Everywhere we go we talk about it, when we meet with countries that aren’t complying with human rights in the way we would want, that aren’t consistent with our value sets. We’ve done that with Chairman Kim [of North Korea]. I know the President has spoken about that with [President] Xi [of China] as well. But you have to remember those human rights challenges existed long before this administration came in, when our policies with…