On international affairs, Trump warned of the dangers from “rogue regimes,” like Iran and North Korea, terrorist groups, like the Islamic State, and “rivals” like China and Russia “that challenge our interests, our economy and our values.”
Calling on Congress to lift budgetary caps and boost spending on the military, Trump said that “unmatched power is the surest means of our defense.”
In Beijing, China called on the U.S. to drop what it terms a “Cold War mentality and zero-sum ideology.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying said that common interests outweigh differences between the sides and the U.S. should view the relationship “correctly.”
China’s USD275 billion trade surplus with the U.S. has been a constant source of tension, alongside their growing rivalry for military supremacy in Asia and accusations of intellectual property theft.
Trump’s fiery comments on North Korea reflected confidence that his campaign of pressure and sanctions on the country is working, South Korean analysts said yesterday.
The experts said it also means Washington will continue to deny Pyongyang meaningful dialogue unless it’s willing to discuss serious changes to its nuclear weapons program and human rights conditions.
In his first State of the Union address, Trump warned that North Korea would “very soon” threaten the United States with nuclear-tipped missiles.
He also warned of the dangers from other “rogue regimes,” like Iran, terrorist groups, like the Islamic State, and “rivals” like China and Russia “that challenge our interests, our economy and our values.” Calling on Congress to lift budgetary caps and boost spending on the military, Trump said that “unmatched power is the surest means of our defense.”
Du Hyeogn Cha, a visiting scholar at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that for North Korea, it has to hurt that Trump declared the country as a regime that cannot co-exist with the founding values of the United States.
“He made it clear that his ‘maximum pressure and engagement’ policy will continue to be the only way going forward,” he said. “It was probably the worst message he could deliver to the North without issuing a direct military threat.”
Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University and a security adviser to South Korea’s presidential office, says Trump likely saw North Korea’s outreach over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as a clear sign that pressure and sanctions are working.
News of the speech was not immediately broadcast in North Korea yesterday, which is not unusual. It often takes a day or more before the North responds officially and few North Koreans were likely even aware that Trump was to make a major address before the nation and the world.
The North’s state-run media has, however, amped up its anti-U.S. rhetoric lately, accusing Washington of trying to create tensions ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Pyongyang has also stepped up its warnings that the U.S. is preparing for a possible war by sending aircraft carrier battle groups and advanced stealth bombers and fighters to the region.
Japan has praised Donald Trump’s pledge of putting maximum pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile threats.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan “highly praises President Trump for sending a powerful message in his own words” as North Korea continues to pursue its ambitions.
Suga reiterated Tokyo’s support for the U.S. and vowed to cooperate closely between the two allies and with South Korea, as well as others including China and Russia in order to get the North change its policy.
China Sea omission
In the Philippines, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told The Associated Press that it did not really matter that Trump failed to mention U.S. policy on the South China Sea disputes involving China, the Philippines and four other governments, but that Manila would lend its support to fighting terrorism whenever the efforts of the two nations coincide.
“If our efforts against terrorists coincide, well and good, we cooperate,” he said. “But in reality, each country will be addressing its own security problems by any legal means at its disposal.”
The U.S. deployed surveillance aircraft to help Philippine forces quell an Islamic State group-linked siege in southern Marawi city last year.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Trump has confirmed his “ignorance” in remarks on Iran in his address.
Zarif tweeted: “Trump again confirms his ignorance of Iran & region. Everyone knows where he stands; and it’s certainly not with Iranians.”
Earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the people of Iran will continue supporting the Islamic Republic despite foreign pressure.
Rouhani said in remarks broadcast by state TV: “The Iranian nation will never give up Imam Khomeini’s legacy; Islamism and Republicanism. Return is impossible.”
Tensions on
Capitol Hill
Trump addressed the nation with tensions running high on Capitol Hill. An impasse over immigration prompted a three-day government shutdown earlier this year, and lawmakers appear no closer to resolving the status of the “Dreamers” — young people living in the U.S. illegally ahead of a new Feb. 8 deadline for funding operations. The parties have also clashed this week over the plans of Republicans on the House intelligence committee to release a classified memo on the Russia investigation involving Trump’s presidential campaign — a decision the White House backs but the Justice Department is fighting.
The controversies that have dogged Trump — and the ones he has created— have overshadowed strong economic gains during his first year in office. His approval ratings have hovered in the 30s for much of his presidency, and just 3 in 10 Americans said the United States was heading in the right direction, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In the same survey, 67 percent of Americans said the country was more divided because of Trump.
At times, Trump’s address appeared to be aimed more at validating his first year in office than setting the course for his second. He devoted significant time to touting the tax overhaul he signed at the end of last year, promising the plan will “provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses.” He also highlighted the decision made early in his first year to withdraw the U.S. from a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade pact, declaring: “The era of economic surrender is totally over.”
He spoke about potential agenda items for 2018 in broad terms, including a call for $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure spending and partnerships with states and the private sector. He touched only briefly on issues like health care that have been at the center of the Republican Party’s policy agenda for years.
Tackling the sensitive immigration debate that has roiled Washington, Trump redoubled his recent pledge to offer a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants — but only as part of a package that would also require increased funding for border security, including a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, ending the nation’s visa lottery method and revamping the current legal immigration system. Some Republicans are wary of the hardline elements of Trump’s plan and it’s unclear whether his blueprint could pass Congress.
“Americans are dreamers too,” Trump said, in an apparent effort to reclaim the term used to describe the young immigrants in the U.S. illegally. MDT/AP
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