To be fair and objective, President Donald Trump's trip attracted public attention and achieved certain results, which had certain positive meanings for the United States and for him personally. In all three places, Mr. Donald Trump has the images he wants and needs to have to prove that he is a successful trip.
In Malaysia, it is a photo of attending the signing ceremony of the treaty between Cambodia and Thailand as well as signing an agreement on cooperation in the field of especially important metals. In Japan, there are images showing the warm and respectful reception of new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The agreement between the US and Japan on the supply of rare earths and rare metals has also excited Mr. Donald Trump equally.
In Korea, there are images of the prestigious gifts that the South Korean side has given to Mr. Donald Trump. They satisfied Mr. Trump to the point of agreeing to share the technology to build US nuclear subspace with South Korea.
In addition, trade agreements between the US and all three countries have basically stabilized and are considered by Mr. Donald Trump to be a victory for the US side.
Finally, there is a meeting between Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit Week in South Korea. The results of this meeting are not enough to be considered a new significant progress in the US-China relationship, but only enough to temporarily stop the decline of this bilateral pair. However, Mr. Trump still praised the meeting as great. Meeting President Xi Jinping after canceling his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be Donald Trump's priority for this trip to Asia.
According to the previous announcement of the White House, US President Donald Trump will travel to Asia to attend the ASEAN Summit with partner countries in Malaysia and attend the APEC Summit Week in South Korea. In fact, Mr. Donald Trump focuses almost entirely on the US bilateral relationship with certain partners. Mr. Donald Trump even left Korea right after meeting with President Xi Jinping and before the APEC summit officially began.
Through Mr. Trump's activities and statements during and about this trip to Asia, it can be seen that the US leader no longer prioritizes foreign affairs for the big and current world politics. Mr. Donald Trump is more interested in specific results, although only related to bilateral relations, but very useful and practical in current internal affairs, such as creating a tariff war and trade shock with China, finding new supply sources and ways of supplying rare earths and rare metals to no longer depend on China. Mr. Donald Trump expressed that it is necessary to complete trade agreements with partners when he saw the effect of the trade protection tariff is getting worse.
More than 10 months after returning to power, President Donald Trump is on his first trip to Asia. This is not because he takes the region lightly, but because the Trump administration is still focusing on handling specific bilateral issues and has not yet finalized the overall strategy for the Indo-Pacific region.
