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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The United States Condemns Attempts by PRC-Affiliated Actors to Steal American COVID-19 Research
"The United States condemns attempts by cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to steal U.S. intellectual property and data related to COVID-19 research, as announced in a May 13, 2020 warning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The United States calls on the PRC to cease this malicious activity. As the May 13 warning notes, “The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective…
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Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure - China
"Q What do you mean by cutting relations with China? What would that look like?
THE PRESIDENT: We’ll see. We’ll see. We got a lot of things going with China. We’re not happy about China — I will tell you that. The ink wasn’t dry on a great trade deal, and all of a sudden, the plague comes in from China. We’re not happy about it."
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The United States Welcomes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s Intent to Invest $12 Billion to Bolster U.S. National Security and Economic Prosperity
"On May 14, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) announced that it intends to invest $12 billion in the State of Arizona, starting in 2021, to develop the most state-of-the-art five nanometer semiconductor fabrication foundry in the world. The TSMC deal is a game changer for the U.S. semiconductor industry that will bolster American national security and our economic prosperity.
TSMC’s announcement comes at a critical juncture, when China is competing to dominate cutting-edge technology and control critical industries. The TSMC facility in Arizona will increase…
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Remarks by Commerce Secretary Ross at the 2020 National Asian American and Pacific Islander Business Summit
"Thank you, Prem, for the kind introduction, and for your steadfast leadership of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. I am honored to join Secretary Chao as co-chair of this important commission. And it’s been my pleasure to participate in what has been a lively week of webinars celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Today, more than ever, we pay tribute to the tremendous contributions of the AAPI community to every aspect of American society. My thanks to Secretary…
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Secretary Pompeo With Gili Cohen of Kan 11 - China
"QUESTION: Clearly. For now, a different subject: There were reports that the U.S. has great concerns with Chinese investment here in Israel. Did you demand Israel to cease partnership with Chinese firms?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I’m sorry, could you ask the question again? You’re breaking up just a little bit.
QUESTION: Sorry. I mentioned that there were reports that the U.S. has great concerns with Chinese investment here in Israel. And I’m asking, though, wanted to know if you are demanding Israel to cease partnership with…
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Secretary Pompeo With Ben Shapiro of the Ben Shapiro Show - China
"QUESTION: Hanging in there. So Secretary Pompeo, obviously you’ve been in the center of the news for suggesting that maybe, just maybe, this didn’t all start with a person eating a bat; that perhaps the Wuhan virus, a virus that began in Wuhan, actually may have started in a Chinese lab. Now, we’ve seen a lot of speculation about this, especially because apparently the bat species from which this virus originated was not native to the Wuhan region. So what is the argument that this…
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Secretary Pompeo with Chris Stigall of The Chris Stigall Show - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I guess I’ll start obviously with – if you Google your name today, it’s all the Wuhan lab. It’s all the virus and China and whether Mike Pompeo in a combative – it’s always combative, a combative press exchange about whether or not the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan. So where are we officially on that today?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So it’s neither partisan, nor bullying, nor combative. We’re trying to get answers for the world. The Chinese Communist Party has…
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On the Occasion of Vesak Day
"On behalf of the United States of America, I wish Buddhist communities everywhere, and all those who observe, a joyous and peaceful Vesak.
Today as we reflect on the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, we remember and seek to uphold the timeless, universal principles of compassion, peace, and tolerance that are fundamental to the expression of the Buddhist faith.
Buddhist traditions offer a rich heritage that continue to enrich the world with their spiritual, intellectual, and cultural contributions today.
Today, in celebration of Vesak…
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USTR and Treasury Statement on Call With China
"Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, and Ambassador Robert Lighthizer participated in a conference call today. They discussed economic and trade issues, including the recently concluded Phase One agreement. The parties shared updates on COVID-19 and their assessments of its effects on economic growth as well as the measures their countries are taking to provide support to their economies.
The parties discussed the ongoing process of implementing the Phase One agreement between the two countries that went into effect February…
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Secretary Pompeo with Joe Kernen, Andrew Sorkin, and Rebecca Quick of CNBC’s Squawk Box - China
"QUESTION: Joining us now, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mr. Secretary, it’s great to have you on, especially today. And we’re going to get very quickly to some of your recent comments, but the lead story in the Journal, Mr. Secretary, the virus is widening the rift between the U.S. and China. And just for argument’s sake, I just want to go back to something you said recently, “Today we’re finally realizing the degree to which the Chinese Communist Party is truly hostile to the…
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Secretary Pompeo with Jack Heath of The Jack Heath Radio Show - China
"QUESTION: My two questions for you – and I want to get right to it because we’re a little bit late going into this – I’ve been talking regularly on my morning show on the stations we’re on – I’d like to know how many actual cases there were in China or are, how many deaths. I think it’s germane because it tells us what we’re dealing with. I don’t believe a thing we’ve been hearing out of China. I don’t believe that the state…
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Secretary Pompeo with Steve Gruber of The Steve Gruber Show - China
"QUESTION: Good to have you, sir. The Chinese have made you quite a target here, as I was just sharing with the listeners. And you say it’s because, well, all roads lead back to that virology lab in Wuhan.
SECRETARY POMPEO: So, we know this for sure. We know now that there’s been enormous global economic destruction and the loss of more than a quarter million lives – 70,000 of them here in the United States. This is a catastrophe of real proportions that emanated…
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Secretary Michael R. Pompeo at a Press Availability - China and COVID-19
"Good morning, everyone. It’s been 128 days since Chinese doctor Ai Fen – the director of the Wuhan Central Hospital’s emergency unit – shared information on the internet about a patient with a SARS-like virus. Her colleague, Dr. Li Wenliang, shared Dr. Ai’s report online with medical colleagues.
The next day, December 31st, regional health officials in Wuhan indicated they were treating dozens of patients with an unknown viral pneumonia. And within days, Chinese officials detained Dr. Li and seven others for “spreading false statements…
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Secretary Pompeo With Lou Dobbs of Lou Dobbs Tonight - China
"QUESTION: Joining us tonight, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mr. Secretary, great to have you with us. And the President today – moving straight to that issue – saying this is the worst attack – the pandemic that has struck this country and claimed so many lives is the worst attack in American history. Give us your thoughts.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Lou, thanks for having me on. It is undoubtedly the case that we’ve now had tens of thousands of lives lost here in the…
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Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Vietnamese DPM/FM Pham Binh Minh
"Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke yesterday with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. Secretary Pompeo and DPM/FM Minh reaffirmed the strength of our Comprehensive Partnership as we celebrate a quarter century of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations in 2020. They also discussed our two countries’ extensive coordination in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary and the DPM/FM agreed on the importance of ensuring freedom of the seas and the unfettered pursuit of economic opportunity throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The Secretary reiterated…
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Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang
"Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha yesterday to discuss the two countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Pompeo thanked Foreign Minister Kang for the close cooperation and information sharing on COVID-19 and reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which continues to be the linchpin of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the globe."
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Remarks by President Trump on Protecting America’s Seniors - China and North Korea
"Q Mr. President, you had said that China is doing everything it can to make sure you don’t get reelected. What specifically are they doing?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, China doesn’t want to see me elected, and the reason is that we’re getting billions and billions of dollars — many billions of dollars a month from China. China never gave our country anything. China gave us nothing. Not 10 cents. And whether it was Biden in charge of China, which was a joke because he ripped…
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Secretary Esper's Remarks on China's Conduct in the South China Sea During Program with The Brookings Institution
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President Trump's Virtual Town Hall with Fox News - China
"Martha MacCallum: (20:55)So let’s go to our next question for you all. From Phil Tulkoff, he’s the president of Tulkoff Food Products, which is a family company. Been in the business for over 90 years. They have four locations, South Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, and Tennessee. And here is Phil’s question.
Phil Tulkoff: (21:10)For my firm, the current tariffs add up to almost $60,000 in monthly additional costs for my operations. Lifting these tariffs would help us speed the recovery for many of us…
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Secretary Pompeo With Martha Raddatz of ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos - North Korea and China
"QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. Secretary. There are reports this morning – I want to talk about North Korea first, before we get to China – that shots were fired from North Korea into a South Korean guard tower on the DMZ and that the South fired back after a warning. What can you tell us about that?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, Martha, thanks for having me on this morning. I’ve seen that reporting, too. I’ve seen some of our internal information as well. We can confirm…
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Republic of the Marshall Islands National Day
"On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I extend our warm congratulations to the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in celebration of your 41st Constitution Day.
Our two nations share a unique and deep-rooted friendship. I had the privilege of witnessing this bond and experiencing your hospitality during my visit to your country last August.
The United States is grateful to the Marshallese citizens serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Republic of the Marshall Islands remains a…
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Secretary Pompeo With Buck Sexton of The Buck Sexton Show - China
"QUESTION: A lot going on right now. China obviously the big focus from the international relations standpoint. There’s a piece in The Washington Post that says, “China wasn’t wild about Pompeo before the virus. It’s really gunning for him now.” And then it seems to list a bunch of state media propaganda directed at you as if you’ve somehow upset them. Mr. Secretary, what have you done to get the ire of the Chinese Communist Party?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Buck, what we’ve tried to do, what…
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Secretary Pompeo With Dan “Ox” Ochsner of Ox in the Afternoons - China
"QUESTION: Amen to that. So that – well, you’ve led me into it, then. How do you balance your relations with the Chinese Government, which I assume we have to do as a world power, but when the American proletariat now is catching on that they’re all bad actors and they’ve been playing us all these years?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So look, as for the issue of the virus, we’ve been very clear to the Chinese Communist Party they have a special responsibility. This virus originated…
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Secretary Pompeo With Scott Sands of The Scott Sands Show - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: What can you tell us about what the hell is happening in North Korea? Do we know anything officially about Kim Jong-un?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, we know we’ve not been able to identify a public appearance of his for now a little over two weeks – not unheard of, but unusual. But beyond that, I don’t have much that I can share with you today. We are continuing to monitor closely. We are working to make sure we’re prepared for whatever eventuality there is…
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Secretary Pompeo With Simon Conway of Newsradio 1040 - China
"QUESTION: Right. I’m very pleased that that’s the situation we’re looking at so far.
There’s also, though, the misinformation or disinformation. It’s coming from places like Iran. It’s coming from Russia. It’s coming from China. What are we doing about that and how dangerous is it?
SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s always very dangerous when countries think they can manipulate the information space with real fake news about what’s taking place. We respond. We always correct the record. We do our best to convince those countries that…
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Secretary Pompeo With Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade of Fox and Friends - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: They’re telling us to mind our own business; that’s what China is telling us. Let’s bring in Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State. Good morning to you.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Ainsley, it’s great to be with you this morning.
QUESTION: Can you believe that? They’re telling us to mind our own business, that we’re lying through our teeth. Meanwhile we have almost 60,000 people dead, so many people out of work, and they’re telling us to mind our own business. How are we going to –…
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Proclamation on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2020
"Throughout our Nation’s history, Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have made significant contributions to every aspect of our society, from business and politics to literature and the arts. Their accomplishments have enriched our Nation and stand as a testament to the power of the American Dream. During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate the indelible mark these individuals have left on our culture and pay tribute to the myriad ways in which they continue to strengthen our Nation.
One story…
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Secretary Pompeo With Shannon Bream of Fox News - China and North Korea
"QUESTION: All right, so let’s start there. China says stop running disinformation; they are the ones who are the victim of a disinformation campaign. We know the President has talked publicly about investigations he’d like to see underway by U.S. intel and others. How confident are you saying – in saying that this actually started in that lab in Wuhan, and what more will we know from these investigations?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, Shannon, here’s what we know for sure: This virus originated in Wuhan, China…
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Secretary Pompeo At a Press Availability - China and North Korea
"Moving to a second category, our mission to protect human rights and freedom around the world.
I talked about this a little bit last week. We continue to monitor with growing concern Beijing’s increasing efforts to interfere with Hong Kong’s governance. The erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms is inconsistent with the promises that the Chinese Communist Party itself made under One Country, Two Systems. Any effort to impose draconian national security legislation on Hong Kong would be inconsistent with Beijing’s promises, and would impact American…
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Remarks by President Trump During the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing - North Korea
"Q Mr. President, you, a couple days ago, said that you might reach out to Kim Jong Un directly, but also that you were working to find out if those reports about him being in possible medical trouble were true. I’m wondering if you’ve either —
THE PRESIDENT: I hope he’s not in medical trouble.
Q Well —
THE PRESIDENT: I hope he’s —
Q — have you heard anything from North Korea or —
THE PRESIDENT: I’ve gotten along very well with him. And…
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Remarks by President Trump During the April 27, 2020 Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing - China and North Korea
"Q Mr. President, Charlie Spiering from Breitbart News. And a majority of polls show that Americans blame China for the spread of the coronavirus, and yet they’re taking advantage of the crisis to make the world more dependent on their supply chains. How do you get — how do you hold China accountable and how do you keep our country — how do you incentivize our businesses?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Charlie, there are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable. We’re doing very…
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Joint Statement From the Co-Chairs of the Special ASEAN-United States Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
"The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Lao PDR as the co-Chairs of the Special ASEAN-United States Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) conducted via video conference on April 22/23, 2020.
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Readout of Secretary Esper’s Phone Call With Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono
"On April 24, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper spoke with Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono by phone to discuss bilateral coordination on the response to COVID-19, regional security issues and threats to a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, and continued cooperation to implement U.S. forces realignment initiatives."
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Secretary Pompeo With Tony Perkins of Washington Watch - China
"QUESTION: Yeah. Well, that was actually on my list to get to was what I call the triangle of tyranny. You got China, you got Iran, but you also have Russia putting out the same message there. I don’t know if they’ve all gotten together or they’re just copying each other in the messaging, which is – it’s kind of – I know it just doesn’t add up. This breaks out in China in November. They’re in lockdown. It makes it way to the United…
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Secretary Pompeo With David Brody of Faith Nation with David Brody, CBN - China
"QUESTION: Hanging in there. I know you are too, and there’s a lot to talk about. I want to get to, obviously, China and the coronavirus. You made it clear that China has some explaining to do on this. I know you said that you don’t know if the virus started in a lab in China, and maybe not the wet market in Wuhan, but either way, do you believe the Chinese Communist Party is lying to the world right now?
SECRETARY POMPEO: David, it’s…
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Secretary Pompeo With Ben Shapiro of The Ben Shapiro Show - China
"QUESTION:
Let’s begin with China. So China is in large part responsible for the spread of this virus. They knew there was human-to-human transmission weeks before they informed the rest of the world of this. Five million citizens left Wuhan province while apparently they knew that this thing was spreading. What sort of measures should the United States be looking to take in the future to either seek recompense from the Chinese Government or to protect ourselves from future situations like this?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Ben…
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Secretary Pompeo at a Press Availability - China and North Korea
"Turning to the World Health Organization, I want to spend a few minutes telling the American people a little bit more about the problems that we’re trying to work our way through.
The WHO has two primary functions. First, it’s a regulator and an advisory role, and a health emergency and humanitarian aid operation on top of that.
After the first SARS outbreak in 2003, the United States led the reform of the WHO, the WHO rules that govern how countries report on public health…
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Anzac Day
"On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I am honored to send our best wishes to the people of Australia and New Zealand on Anzac Day this April 25.
Today we stand together to honor the memory of the courageous heroes of Gallipoli. We also acknowledge the brave Australian and New Zealand personnel, past and present, who have sacrificed and served to secure peace in the years since that historic battle.
We face a different challenge this year, and we commend…