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Leaving Asia, Obama Predicts U.S. Tilt Toward Region Will Be Lasting Leaving Asia, Obama Predicts U.S. Tilt Toward Region Will Be Lasting
(about 7 hours later)
VIENTIANE, Laos — President Obama, ending his final trip to Asia in office, dismissed suggestions on Thursday that his sometimes bumpy reception in the region this week called into question the success of his policy of reasserting the United States’ role in the region. VIENTIANE, Laos — President Obama ended his final trip to Asia on Thursday with a brisk defense of his “Asia pivot” policy and an impatient dismissal of those who suggested his bumpy reception in the region this week augured doubts about America’s long-term role.
“The concern that I’ve heard is not that what we’ve done hasn’t been important and successful,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. “The concern I’ve heard is, ‘Will it continue?’ ” “The concern that I’ve heard is not that what we’ve done hasn’t been important and successful,” Mr. Obama said at a wrap-up news conference. “The concern I’ve heard is, ‘Will it continue?’ ”
“My hope and expectation is that my successor will in fact will sustain this kind of engagement,” he said. “My hope and expectation is that my successor will, in fact, sustain this kind of engagement,” he said.
Disagreements between Chinese security officials and the White House during Mr. Obama’s visit to China, a dispute over the stairs that were to be rolled to Air Force One, and a profane outburst against him by the new president of the Philippines all fed a narrative that the president was under pressure in a region dominated by a rising China. The president’s weeklong tour yielded some accomplishments, from further progress on climate change with China to the president’s candid recognition of the lingering cost of America’s secret bombing campaign in Laos during the Vietnam War.
Mr. Obama, however, said that was primarily a fixation by the news media that did not reflect his conversations with Asian leaders or the enthusiastic welcome he received from ordinary people in Laos. But the substance and symbolism had to compete with off-key incidents: verbal clashes between Chinese security officials and White House staff members after Mr. Obama’s arrival in Hangzhou; a dispute in China over the stairs that were to be rolled to Air Force One, which forced the president to exit the plane through a smaller doorway; and a profane outburst against Mr. Obama by the new president of the Philippines.
“If this theory about my reception and my rebalance policy is based on me going down the short stairs in China, yes, I think that is overblown,” he said. “Any reasonable person, certainly any person in the region, would be puzzled as to how this became somehow indicative of the work that we’ve done here.” It all fed a narrative that the president was being pushed around in a region under the sway of a resurgent China.
For Mr. Obama, the challenges entailed in asserting the United States’ role in the region against a rising China became clear in the diplomatic maneuvering at a two-day meeting in Laos of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean. Mr. Obama suggested that these incidents were largely a fixation of the news media and did not reflect on his conversations with Asian leaders at two summit meetings here, nor the enthusiastic welcome he got from ordinary people. On Wednesday, he visited the ancient Laotian capital of Luang Prabang, where he toured a Buddhist monastery, sipped from a split coconut, and chatted with two young men on the banks of the Mekong River.
Beijing lobbied successfully at the meeting to temper references to China’s territorial clashes in the South China Sea with its neighbors. A draft statement from the 10 countries in the association made only muted mention of the disputes. “If this theory about my reception and my rebalance policy is based on me going down the short stairs in China, yes, I think that is overblown,” the president said, a sarcastic edge in his voice. “Any reasonable person, certainly any person in the region, would be puzzled as to how this became somehow indicative of the work that we’ve done here.”
“Several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea,” it said, calling for “the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international laws.” There were, however, more genuine signs of the challenges the United States will face in coming years with China, starting with the diplomatic maneuvering at these meetings. Beijing lobbied to temper references to its territorial clashes with neighbors in the South China Sea. A draft statement from the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations mentioned the disputes but was vague about how to resolve them.
The Obama administration had hoped to use a recent ruling against China by a tribunal in The Hague as a lever to discredit its reclamation of land on reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, as well as its long-held claim to large areas of the sea. Mr. Obama drew attention to the ruling at the Asean meeting, saying, “I recognize this raises tensions.” “Several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea,” the draft said. It called for “the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international laws.”
For some of China’s neighbors, including Laos, the host of the meeting, increasing tensions is the last thing they want to do. Even the Philippines, which brought the suit that led to the tribunal ruling, sounded a more conciliatory note. A spokesman for the president, Rodrigo Duterte, said that Mr. Duterte wanted to take a “soft-landing strategy and talk peace with China.” The Obama administration hopes to use a recent ruling against China by a tribunal in The Hague as a lever to discredit China’s reclamation of land on reefs and shoals in the South China Sea. Mr. Obama drew attention to the ruling, saying “I recognize this raises tensions.”
“China has won in the last round of competition over the South China Sea,” said an editorial in Global Times, an English-language Chinese paper that often takes nationalist positions. It continued, “The new political waves around the South China Sea have been put under control, and China has gained some experiences of games between great powers.” But for some of China’s neighbors — including Laos, the host of the summit — that is the last thing they want to do. Even the Philippines, which brought the suit that led to the tribunal ruling, sounded a conciliatory note. A spokesman for the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, said he wanted to take a “soft-landing strategy and talk peace with China.”
Mr. Obama has also struggled because another pillar of his Asia strategy, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, remains caught up in election-year politics in the United States. The president spent a lot of time in Laos discussing the ins and outs of a congressional vote, reassuring Asian leaders that the trade agreement would get a fair hearing after the election. The Chinese news media portrayed the results of the meeting as a victory for Beijing. “China has won in the last round of competition over the South China Sea,” said an editorial in Global Times, an English-language Chinese paper that often takes nationalist positions. “The new political waves around the South China Sea have been put under control, and China has gained some experiences of games between great powers.”
But if Mr. Obama was a visible presence in his last appearance at an Asian summit meeting, Mr. Duterte’s erratic performance ended up seizing much of the attention. He missed a photograph with other leaders; his spokesman later said he had a migraine. Mr. Obama also has struggled because another pillar of his Asia strategy, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, remains entangled in election-year politics in the United States. The president spent a lot of time during his trip discussing the nuances of a congressional vote, reassuring Asian leaders that the trade agreement would get a fair hearing after the election.
At a closed session later, according to officials, Mr. Duterte threw out his prepared remarks and delivered an emotional speech on human rights, in which he accused industrialized countries of putting less-developed countries “under the yoke of imperialism.” Mr. Obama was a visible presence in his last appearance at an Asia summit, winning praise and applause from leaders, several of whom he is unlikely to see again. But Mr. Duterte’s erratic performance ended up seizing much of the attention. He missed a group photograph with other leaders; his spokesman later said he was having a migraine.
At a closed session later in the day, according to officials, Mr. Duterte threw out his prepared remarks and delivered a rancorous speech on human rights, in which he accused leading industrialized countries of putting less developed countries “under the yoke of imperialism.”
Mr. Duterte’s earlier outburst against Mr. Obama — in which he called him a “son of a whore,” after Mr. Obama said he planned to ask the Philippine leader about extrajudicial killings in his country — led the president to cancel a meeting with him. But on Wednesday evening, the two leaders ran into each other before a gala dinner and shook hands.
Mr. Obama insisted he did not take Mr. Duterte’s words personally. “It seems as if this is a phrase he’s used repeatedly, including directed at the pope and others, so it seems to be just a habit, a way of speaking,” Mr. Obama said. But he did not retreat from his assertion that recent killings in the battle against drug trafficking in the Philippines were problematic.
“We do want to make sure that the partnership we have is consistent with international norms and rule of law,” Mr. Obama said. “We’re not going to back off our position that if we’re working with a country — whether it’s on antiterrorism, whether it’s going after drug traffickers, as despicable as these networks may be, as much damage as they may do — it is important from our perspective that we do it the right way.”