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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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Antidumping Duty Determinations on Low Melt Polyster Staple Fiber from Korea and Taiwan
"Today [January 29, 2018], U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of imports of low melt polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan. [...] The Commerce Department preliminarily determined that exporters from Korea and Taiwan have sold low melt polyester staple fiber in the United States at 0.00 to 16.48 percent and 52.00 percent less than fair value, respectively. As a result of today’s decision, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to…
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Secretary Mattis Remarks with South Korea Minister of Defense Song on North Korea
"The Kim regime [in North Korea] is a threat to the entire world. It's an international problem that requires an international solution. Our response to this threat remains diplomacy-led, backed up with military options available to ensure that our diplomats are understood to be speaking from a position of strength. And, Minister Song, I want to praise your nation's [South Korea] steadfast action, upholding the United Nations sanctions at sea. The Republic of Korea has impounded two ships that were found violating the United Nations…
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ROK-US Defense Ministerial Meeting
"Secretary Mattis reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the ROK, including its strong extended deterrence commitment, and stressed that any North Korean attack on the United States, its territories or its allies will be met with an effective and overwhelming response. Secretary Mattis and [South Korean] Minister [of National Defense] Song [Young-moo] welcomed the resumed inter-Korean dialogue, which has resulted in North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Both sides agreed to closely cooperate to assure a safe and peaceful Winter Olympics. Both…
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Secretary Mattis Meeting with Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Lich
"Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Vietnam Minister of National Defense Ngo Xuan Lich during an official visit to Vietnam on January 25, 2018. This is the sixth visit to Vietnam by a United States Secretary of Defense and follows Defense Minister Lich's official visit to Washington, D.C., in August 2017. [...] Secretary Mattis highlighted the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which reaffirms the United States' commitment to work with partners such as Vietnam to sustain the rules-based order in a free and open…
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Media Availability with Secretary Mattis en route to Hawaii - North and South Korea
"The defense of South Korea is a treaty alliance with us. There is not a peace treaty. There is only an armistice right now. So, from the day the fight -- fighting ended in 1953, there's been military forces along the -- what we call the Demilitarized Zone -- all along the southern side of that. And, numerous times, North Korea has violated that over the years, and out in the waters, and even against airliners -- civilian airliners, that sort of thing. So those…
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Media Availability with Secretary Mattis en route to Hawaii - Vietnam
"This is the normal coordination, collaboration, consultation, as we work out a relationship with Vietnam, and leaving things in the past as our starting point. We're still working on removing, mediating the effects of the war. We signed, two days ago, a memorandum of intent to start addressing the Bien Hoa Air Base ground contamination. So, we're dealing with those things in respect to the past, but it is definitely a forward-looking -- (inaudible) -- relationship, military-to-military relationship, going -- you know, I met with…
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Media Availability by Secretary Mattis En Route to Vietnam
"On our way now into Vietnam. And I think that as you look at many of the freedom of navigation issues in the South China Sea, if you look at the geography of the archipelago of Indonesia and then you just go up the map a little ways -- I'm just going to pull your things off of there -- and you look at how here is the South China Sea and you look at Vietnam's coast, you can understand why many of the freedom…
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Secretary Mattis Meeting with Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard
"Secretary of Defense James Mattis met today with Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu in Jakarta, their third meeting since Mattis was sworn in a year ago. The two leaders discussed the security situation in the region, to include North Korea, the South China Sea and North Natuna Sea, ISIS, and the Rohingya refugee crisis. Mattis noted the importance of the US-Indonesia partnership, recognizing that the two are like-minded partners with diverse populations who share a commitment to democracy, peace, and prosperity. He noted that…
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Intelligence Beyond 2018: A Conversation with [Then] CIA Director Mike Pompeo
"We should remember we have partners there that are working on this diligently as well — the South Koreans themselves, the Japanese. We have partners throughout the region that share our understanding that this is [North Korea's nuclear weapon capacity] a global threat. We often here in the States talk about the threat here. This is a threat to the whole world."