Obama to visit Japan, three other Asian countries in April

WASHINGTON — United States President Barack Obama will visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in April, six months after a scrapped tour of Asia raised questions about his commitment to an increasingly influential region of the world.

The trip will be the first time the President is visiting the region since China and Japan clashed over an air-defence zone established by Beijing last year.

Mr Obama will meet with the leaders of all four nations and plans to address diplomatic, economic and security issues, the White House said.

Mr Obama in 2012 declared a pivot to Asia, signalling that the US would shift part of its focus from Europe and the Middle East to a region whose importance in world affairs has surged in the past decade.

The US hopes to build closer economic and military ties with Asian countries and keep pace with China’s growing influence.

Last October, he shelved plans to visit Malaysia and the Philippines and attend regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei because of a US government shutdown. Political analysts said at the time that the cancellation had projected an unflattering image of the US as politically and economically volatile and ceding the international stage to China.

The US leader postponed visits to Indonesia and Australia because of domestic politics and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, and missed an Asia Pacific summit in Russia in 2012 because of the Democratic Party convention.

While China is not on Mr Obama’s itinerary, Chinese officials have said they expect the US President to come to Beijing later this year for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Beijing’s territorial ambitions and growing regional clout are also sure to figure in talks at every stop. US officials have said the zone established by China on Nov 23 over disputed islands in the East China Sea is illegitimate.

China’s Foreign Ministry, however, has defended the country’s right to defend national security, while also slamming the US for helping spread rumours drummed up by Japanese right-wing forces.

In Japan, Mr Obama plans to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, among other issues, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the White House said. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the meeting would include problems associated with freedom of navigation, a reference to what Japan considers China’s incursions on Japanese territorial waters.

In South Korea, the President aims to speak about recent developments in North Korea with President Park Geun Hye, among other topics, the White House added.

“Our government anticipates that this visit will be a good opportunity for the two leaders to have in-depth discussions on moving the Korea-US alliance forward and issues on the Korean Peninsula, in north-east Asia and beyond,” Ms Park’s office said in a statement.

China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea will be at the top of the agenda in the Philippines. Beijing’s claims encompass roughly 90 per cent of the South China Sea and are demarcated by a U-shaped nine-dash line. The Philippines has been the most vocal opponent among the countries contesting China’s claims there. Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea.