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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Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure - China, North Korea, and India
"Q Mr. President, why the tariffs against China now? And are you concerned about the nosedive the Dow took today as a result?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m not concerned about that at all. I expected that a little bit because people don’t understand quite yet about what’s happened.
We’ve taxed China on 300 billion dollars’ worth of goods and products being sold into our country. And China eats it because they have to pay it. Because what they do is they devalue their currency and…
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Secretary Pompeo's Remarks to Traveling Press En Route to Bangkok, Thailand - Indo-Pacific
"SECRETARY POMPEO: So just a couple things, if I may, just to sort of set what caused me to take this trip. So we’ll be gathering with a bunch of countries that we have worked closely with on many different things, and you’ll see that I’ll have a series of bilats. Many of these are like-minded countries who share our vision for what the region should look like and how economic growth will – ought to be achieved. And so I’m looking forward to that…
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Secretary Pompeo With Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg TV - North Korea and China
"QUESTION: I mean, there’s so much going on around the world. I mean, coming up with these questions, there’s literally like hot pockets all around the world. Just within the last 24 hours, the North Koreans test-firing two new short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday. How does this impact the denuclearization talks with Kim Jong-un?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Look, everybody tries to get ready for negotiations and create leverage, and create risk for the other side. President Trump has been incredibly consistent here. We want diplomacy to…
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Secretary Pompeo With Bret Baier of FOX News - North Korea and China
"QUESTION: North Korea. Ambassador Bolton was in South Korea, and North Korea just launched these two missiles, 30 miles in the air. It’s made – North Korea has made clear it does not like the national security advisor, they do not particularly like you. They talk about you quite a bit. What message is the administration taking from this latest action?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So when the President and Chairman Kim were together now just a few weeks back in the DMZ, Chairman Kim made two…
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Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo With Raymond Arroyo of EWTN-TV - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: You have said vis-a-vis religious liberty, “America’s commitment to religious freedom will never waver.” Given that commitment, why have we not heard so much about religious and human rights in the conversation with China? And why not tie those rights, as previous administrations have, to trade?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So I think we’ve done that more than perhaps the administration’s been given credit for. Whether it was our consul general in Hong Kong or the statements that have been made by various officials, including me…
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Remarks by Vice President Pence at the 2nd Annual Religious Freedom Ministerial - Myanmar [Burma], China, and North Korea
"We’re also standing up for the persecuted Rohingya people in Burma. While that conflict has fallen along ethnic lines, we cannot ignore the rise of militant Buddhism against Muslim and Christian minorities that’s taken place. A brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya has forced more than 700,000 to flee across the border to Bangladesh. And though the United States has repeatedly urged the Burmese government to hold accountable all those responsible, the government has continued to imprison and harass innocent men and women.
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Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Keynote Address at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom - Myanmar [Burma] and China
"In Burma, each of you has had the chance to hear how the military has brutalized and persecuted the Rohingya, the large majority of whom are Muslim. On Tuesday, the United States announced visa restrictions on the two highest-ranking Burmese military commanders and two other senior military figures, each of them for having been involved in these very atrocities. It’s the first time any country has taken public action against the Burmese military’s highest-ranking leaders.
Targeting the Rohingya is just one part of the military’s…
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Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo With David Brody of CBN-TV - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: No surprise that China is not here. What is the message to China? You have to work with them on a lot of different issues – trade and others. That Muslim community, the Uighur Muslim community up in China persecuted. What’s the message to China especially as it relates to this event?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So the message is really simple. It’s a message that’s no different than that what we share with other countries around the world that aren’t treating every human being with…
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Secretary Pompeo With Hugh Hewitt of the Hugh Hewitt Show - China and Myanmar [Burma]
"QUESTION: Now it seems to me that it’s a very difficult order, but if you could persuade your counterparts in the PRC and Russia that religious freedom practiced by all but the extremes of any faith – and every faith has extremes and they cannot be allowed to define the religion for which they appear to speak – but religious liberty is actually a stabilizing force in any country that embraces genuine, broad spectrum religious liberty. Have you made that argument to President Xi or…
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Secretary Pompeo's Remarks on Gross Violations of Human Rights of Burmese Military Officials
"Today, the Department of State is publicly designating the following individuals and their immediate family members for the named individuals’ responsibility for gross human rights violations, including in extrajudicial killings in northern Rakhine State, Burma, during the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya:
- Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing
- Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win
- Brigadier General Than Oo
- Brigadier General Aung Aung
These designations are made under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Act. Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where there is credible information that…
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Remarks by Vice President Pence in a Press Gaggle - China
"Q — please allow me to ask questions not related, but I think if you would think it’s important as a man of faith. You understand that a lot of the — in China, this year marks the 20 years’ anniversary of the Chinese government’s persecution of Falun Gong — the spiritual movement. And even people here — I just met some people — they are here now, but they still affected by Chinese government’s persecution policy, which has extended to here.
So at this…