WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama departed Saturday on a weeklong, 16,000-mile trip to Asia, part of his effort to pay more attention to the region and boost economic and security cooperation.
He’ll spend three days in Vietnam, with stops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, for meetings with leaders, a speech on U.S.-Vietnam relations, visits to cultural treasures and sessions with civic leaders and entrepreneurs. From Vietnam, he heads to Japan for a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and a historic visit to Hiroshima.
Along the way, Obama will make a big push for the 12-nation trans-Pacific trade agreement, which includes the U.S., Vietnam and Japan. The deal is stalled in Congress, but Obama hopes it will one day increase trade in the region and make it easier for U.S. workers and companies to compete in Asia. The deal faces strong opposition from the leading 2016 presidential candidates and other critics, who say it doesn’t do enough to protect U.S. workers from unfair competition.
A sticking point during Obama’s stay in Vietnam will be human rights. Five Republican senators sent the president a letter Friday labeling Vietnam “one of the most repressive regimes in the world” and urging Obama to press Vietnamese leaders to do more to respect freedom of religion and expression and other human rights. The letter was signed by Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, John Boozman of Arkansas, John Cornyn of Texas, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Before Obama left, Vietnam granted early release from prison to a Catholic priest who is one of its most prominent dissidents. The move is widely viewed as a goodwill gesture before the president arrives in Hanoi late Sunday night for an official visit.
The Catholic archdiocese of the central city of Hue reported on its webpage that it welcomed the return Friday of the Rev. Nguyen Van Ly from prison. Ly, 70, has served several long terms in prison or under house arrest for promoting political and religious freedoms in the communist nation.
Obama’s final year in office is heavy with foreign travel as he conducts what amounts to a long, global farewell tour. He’s already made a historic trip to Cuba and visited Saudi Arabia, Germany and Britain. He’s due to make a daytrip to Canada next month, attend a NATO summit in Poland in July and expected to become the first president to visit Laos in the fall. He’s also expected to attend a fall summit of the Group of 20 industrial and emerging-market nations in China and an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru in November.
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President Obama should invite dick’n’dub. Then have an emergency landing in Spain where Airforce One has to be evacuated. Then notify the authorities. Best rendition scenario ever.
From an article in WaPo…
“Don’t look now, but Barack Obama is suddenly popular”
The trump effect! Makes a great president, look even more popular!
Then President Obama’s approval numbers would be even higher!
“President Barack Obama departed Saturday on a weeklong, 16,000-mile trip to Asia, part of his effort to pay more attention to the region and boost economic and security cooperation.”
…
Obama’s final year in office is heavy with foreign travel as he conducts what amounts to a long, global farewell tour."
That’s not exactly how I would describe a trip to represent the US at the G-7 Summit, or to firm up diplomatic and security relations with our strongest Asian partner, or to set the stage for ratification of the largest trade agreement in world history.
But then, I’m not a passive-aggressive scribbler at the Associated Press…
The other day, Bloomberg editorialized in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. In a departure from previous commentary focused on the economy, jobs and trade, it focused on the strategic benefits of TPP:
"For Congress, in a year when voters of both parties are worried about globalization, the political cost of ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal may seem prohibitive. But the economic case for the pact is convincing. And in Southeast Asia, the strategic costs of not approving it are high – and rising fast.
Free Trade Feud
As the world anticipates an international court verdict against China’s expansive maritime claims, tensions in the South China Sea are increasing. China has vowed to defy any adverse ruling. And nervous countries in the region are wondering whether they can count on the U.S. to resist China’s territorial expansionism.
The best way for the U.S. to reassure these nations is to strengthen its commercial ties to the region. After years of hard negotiations and painful compromises all around, the TPP has become the most important test of American commitment to Asia – a “demonstration with substance,” as Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong put it recently.
The deal would bind the U.S. economy more closely with those in the region. It would be a magnet for Thailand, Indonesia and other countries that aren’t yet members. And it would convince Asian nations, far more than words can, that the U.S. has interests in the region it’s willing to defend.
The deal would also boost the U.S. economy, presenting the other signatories with a vibrant source of demand for their goods. And passage of the TPP, in the face of political attacks, would help convince doubters that the U.S. remains capable of constructive cooperation both within Washington and with the world.
Some countries wary of China’s actions in the South China Sea have been quietly pushing for a bit more gunboat diplomacy from the U.S. In truth, however, America’s military options are limited: If U.S. Navy ships patrolling the region were to act more aggressively, by conducting military activities very near China’s man-made islands, China could be expected to respond with equal boldness – by declaring an air-defense zone over the disputed area, for example, or by reclaiming land at Scarborough Shoal, less than 140 miles from the Philippines.
A successful trade deal wouldn’t directly set the U.S. and China against each other. One day, in fact, China should be allowed to join the pact. In contrast, the cost of defending U.S. interests in the Pacific with battleships and bombers alone is considerable and probably not sustainable over the long term. Congress should factor that, too, into its political calculations on the TPP."