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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Readout of Secretary of Defense Esper’s Phone Call With Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo
"Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper spoke today with Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance and the close coordination between the defense authorities of the two countries.
The two leaders discussed the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and committed to continue supporting diplomatic efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. Both sides also pledged to continue to…
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21st Anniversary of the PRC Government’s Persecution of Falun Gong
"Since 1999, the Communist Party of China (CCP) has sought to eradicate Falun Gong, a spiritual practice originating in China, and its peaceful practitioners and human rights defenders who have fought for their right to practice their beliefs. Extensive evidence shows the PRC government continues to repress and abuse this community to this day, including reported torture of Falun Gong practitioners and detention of thousands.
Last year, I welcomed Dr. Yuhua Zhang, one among many Falun Gong survivors of the CCP’s campaign of persecution, to…
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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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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 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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The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-393), the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-76), the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020, signed into law July 14, 2020, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration…
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Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference - China
"Today, I signed legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which I signed this afternoon, passed unanimously through Congress. This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom. We’ve all watched what happened. Not a good situation. Their freedom has been taken away. Their rights have been taken away. And with it, goes Hong Kong…
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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…