John F. Copper is the Stanley J. Buckman Professor of International Studies (emeritus) at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the author of more than thirty books on China, Taiwan and US Asia policy.
It appears that US President Barack Obama has implemented, or at least has not opposed or sought to block, legislation to birdcage President-elect Donald Trump on future relations with China. He has “arranged” difficulties for Trump’s future attempts to get along with Beijing.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the US election, what has appeared in the press and on television suggests they are nothing less than obsessed in purveying a bad Trump presidency forecast. This goes especially for deconstructing what Trump may think of Asia.
In the last few months, US relations with the Philippines have gone from very good or excellent to bad or terrible. The Philippines, where public opinion about the US had been 90 percent favorable, had seemed to turn to China to replace the US as its best friend.
In recent years, “engaging in cyber warfare” has become part of the parlance used by those who discuss US-China relations. Its use has become even more frequent in the last two or three years. How true are these charges? What is the evidence?
In September 2016, US President Barack Obama embarked on what is likely to be his last visit to Asia while in office. The objective of the trip was to vie with China to maintain America’s influence in Asia and the world that China has been fast encroaching on in recent years.
Government officials in Beijing are skeptical of Donald Trump. But they feel they can negotiate with him and need to resolve some economic disputes that have festered too long. They like him and, more importantly, they like his party better than Hillary Clinton and her party.
To some observers, Tsai and her party were challenged by problems of such a scope and magnitude that the future did not look good. In other words, the headwinds seem almost insurmountable.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen planned to seek closer economic relations with the countries of Southeast Asia, so as to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on trade and other commercial relations with China. However, questions soon arose concerning how promising Tsai’s plan might be.