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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Commerce Department Adds Eleven Chinese Entities Implicated in Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang to the Entity List
"The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added to the Entity List 11 Chinese companies implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data, and genetic analyses targeted at Muslim minority groups from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Today’s action will result in these companies facing new restrictions on access to U.S.-origin items, including commodities and technology. This action will…
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Readout of Secretary Esper’s Phone Call With New Zealand Minister for Defence Ron Mark
"Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper spoke today with the New Zealand Minister for Defence Ron Mark, the two leaders reaffirmed the strength of the U.S. –NZL relationship, highlighted respective global security contributions, and discussed the challenging geostrategic operating environment in the Indo-Pacific region. Secretary Esper and Minister Mark agreed to closely coordinate and synchronize on COVID-19 response efforts in the Pacific Island Countries and throughout the region in concert with other like-minded nations. Both leaders emphasized the importance of upholding international rules and norms…
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Designation of PRC Foreign Nationals and Entities under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
"The Department of State joins the Department of the Treasury in announcing the designation of four People’s Republic of China foreign nationals – Ji Songyan, Zhan Longbao, Cheng Guifeng, and Zheng Guangfu – and one Chinese entity – , and Global United Biotechnology Inc. – for their support to and involvement in the international drug trafficking operations of Chinese synthetic opioid traffickers Zheng Fujing and Yan Xiaobing and the Zheng Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). These designations are made pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation…
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Secretary Pompeo's Remarks on China
"And that perhaps starts with the Chinese Communist Party. No administration has broken glass on the threat of our times like we have.
For a long time, foreign policy thinkers – truly, the elites on the East Coast – for a long time, foreign policy thinkers thought that the more we traded with China, the more free that nation would become and the less risk they would be to the American people.
But that’s not what’s happening today.
Today, the Chinese Communist Party is crushing…
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Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Bill Hemmer of Fox News - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: Thank you for expressing that here. Let’s go to it now, okay? China. You said yesterday that the world would hold China accountable. How?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So I can see it happening already. I can see nations who were doing business in China who are rethinking about how to do that. If you’re buying products that are the result of the slave labor that’s happening in the western part of China, if you’re a country that’s bent the knee to China because they tried…
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Secretary Pompeo With Bob Cusack, Editor-in-Chief of The Hill - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: Thanks, Jimmy and Steve, and thank you, Mr. Secretary, for joining us. I want to jump into the news. Just recently, Mr. Secretary, you said that the U.S. may ban TikTok and other Chinese apps. Is there going to be a decision on that this summer?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, Bob, thanks. First of all, thanks for having me on here as well. Jimmy, thanks for that very, very generous introduction. Yeah, I made a comment about TikTok. We’ve got to go back to first…
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On the President’s Announcement on Hong Kong
"Over the past two weeks, the world has watched as the Chinese Communist Party smothers Hong Kong’s freedom. In 1984, China promised the United Kingdom and the Hong Kong people in front of the world that it would keep Hong Kong free and open and maintain its high degree of autonomy until the year 2047. With the draconian national security legislation that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong, which allows mainland China’s security services to operate with impunity in Hong Kong, China has broken that promise…
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Secretary Pompeo at a Press Availability -
"SECRETARY POMPEO: [...] Yesterday President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and announced a series of actions through a presidential executive order.
As he said in May, if China treats Hong Kong as one country and a single system, so must we.
General Secretary Xi Jinping made a choice to violate the Chinese Communist Party’s promises to Hong Kong in – that were made in a UN-registered treaty. He didn’t have to do that; he made that choice.
We have to deal with China…
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Secretary Pompeo With Simon Conway of The Simon Conway Show - China
"QUESTION: All right, let’s get to some very serious stuff regarding China. Of course, we saw the President yesterday in the Rose Garden talking about our tougher approach. Why are we getting tough with China right now?
SECRETARY POMPEO: For now 40 years, Simon, the American people have been fed a bill of goods that if we simply engage with China, that they would leave us alone and behave in a way that was consistent with how other large nations behaved. That hasn’t happened. We…
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Welcoming the United Kingdom Decision To Prohibit Huawei From 5G Networks
"We welcome news that the United Kingdom plans to ban Huawei from future 5G networks and phase out untrusted Huawei equipment from existing networks. With this decision, the UK joins a growing list of countries from around the world that are standing up for their national security by prohibiting the use of untrusted, high-risk vendors. We will continue to work with our British friends on fostering a secure and vibrant 5G ecosystem, which is critical to Transatlantic security and prosperity.
The momentum in favor of…
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On the Pan-Democratic Primary Election in Hong Kong
"I warmly congratulate Hong Kong’s pan-democrats for their successful primary election. More than 600,000 Hong Kongers cast ballots in the first territory-wide, pan-democratic primary election. Their enthusiasm clearly demonstrates their desire to make their voices heard in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to suffocate the territory’s freedoms.
We note with grave concern Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s threat that this primary may have violated Beijing’s new “national security” law for the territory, once again demonstrating the Chinese Communist Party’s fear of…
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Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate - China's Actions Towards Hong Kong
"Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), I hereby report I have issued an Executive Order (the “order”) that declares a national emergency with respect to the recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy. The order further declares that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to the…