Lee Smith writes: The main point is this: While the Trump cabinet is at daggers drawn, while it can’t hire the staff to implement the policies the president campaigned on—to destroy ISIS, to reign in Iran and crash the nuclear deal, to protect American citizens and interests, and to realign with allies like Israel that Obama made vulnerable—there are much more decisive and deadly conflicts going on almost everywhere around the world. The people who are handling key elements of those conflicts now are the same people who handled those areas under Obama, despite the results of the last election. No wonder the results look equally awful. - Tablet
Hannah Suh Harry Krejsa, and Mira Rapp-Hooper write: The Trump administration should learn from the failures and build upon the successes of the rebalance. Regardless of the title used to identify these efforts, American force posture, security assistance, military innovation, and new concepts of operation should all support a broader strategy for Asia if the new administration hopes to maintain military access to the seas and skies of the Western Pacific. – War on the Rocks
Sarah Cook and Annie Boyajian write: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first trip to China this week will set the tone for the U.S.-China relationship under the Trump administration. It is critical that he raise human rights as a core U.S. principle, as a matter that directly affects American businesses and nonprofits, and as a strategically important symbol of U.S. resolve, signaling that the administration will not simply acquiesce to the Chinese government’s long-standing insistence that Washington has no right to question the country’s dreadful record of political repression. – The Diplomat
At a time of multiplying tensions in Asia, Rex W. Tillerson, the American secretary of state, began his first major foreign trip in Japan and said on Thursday that the United States needed a “different approach” to North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat, though he declined to give specifics. – New York Times
- Tillerson to UN rights council: Reform or we’re leaving
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will warn China’s leaders that the United States is prepared to step up missile defenses and pressure on Chinese financial institutions if they fail to use their influence to restrain North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, according to several officials involved in planning his first mission to Asia. – New York Times
The threat from North Korea — nuclear-armed, impoverished and deeply suspicious of a potential U.S. attack — is the centerpiece of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Asia beginning Wednesday. It was also the main topic for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s Asia trip last month — his first as the Pentagon chief. – Washington Post
South Koreans will go to the polls in May to elect a successor to Park Geun-hye, whose presidency ended last week in a historic court ruling, the government announced on Wednesday. – New York Times
American and Korean captains of industry gathered on Wednesday in a convention center here to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean trade pact. But it was a nervous celebration. Many were worried the U.S. will try to renegotiate or even abrogate the hard-fought agreement, which many tout as “the gold standard,” after U.S. President Donald Trump deemed it detrimental to American interests. Mr. Trump already scrapped American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was structured on the Korean deal. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) deployed to South Korea earlier this month and while the missile-muting shield is meant to keep North Korean nuclear ambitions in check it is also driving the Chinese to distraction. – Scout Warrior
Anthony Blinken writes: What, if anything, can change his strategic calculus? The answer is a comprehensive, sustained and relentless international pressure campaign, led by the United States, South Korea, Japan and China, that raises the price of Mr. Kim’s obstinacy to the point that he believes his survival is in jeopardy. – New York Times
Joel Wit and Richard Sokolsky write: Fair or not, Secretary Tillerson has been pilloried by the press and pundits as missing in action. This sensitive diplomatic mission offers him an opportunity to show his mettle. The last thing Washington needs, at a time when America’s global leadership and position in Asia is under challenge, is for Secretary Tillerson to leave the region empty-handed, or in worse shape than he found it. – The National Interest
Minxin Pei writes: Unless the upcoming summit reaches a grand bargain that stabilizes U.S.-China relations across the board, the risks that the Trump administration will push back against China on trade and security will remain high and China will have little incentive to help America out where North Korea is concerned. If anything, the unfolding crisis in North Korea could get far more dangerous – The Atlantic
South Koreans will go to the polls in May to elect a successor to Park Geun-hye, whose presidency ended last week in a historic court ruling, the government announced on Wednesday. – New York Times
American and Korean captains of industry gathered on Wednesday in a convention center here to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean trade pact. But it was a nervous celebration. Many were worried the U.S. will try to renegotiate or even abrogate the hard-fought agreement, which many tout as “the gold standard,” after U.S. President Donald Trump deemed it detrimental to American interests. Mr. Trump already scrapped American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was structured on the Korean deal. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) deployed to South Korea earlier this month and while the missile-muting shield is meant to keep North Korean nuclear ambitions in check it is also driving the Chinese to distraction. – Scout Warrior
Anthony Blinken writes: What, if anything, can change his strategic calculus? The answer is a comprehensive, sustained and relentless international pressure campaign, led by the United States, South Korea, Japan and China, that raises the price of Mr. Kim’s obstinacy to the point that he believes his survival is in jeopardy. – New York Times
Joel Wit and Richard Sokolsky write: Fair or not, Secretary Tillerson has been pilloried by the press and pundits as missing in action. This sensitive diplomatic mission offers him an opportunity to show his mettle. The last thing Washington needs, at a time when America’s global leadership and position in Asia is under challenge, is for Secretary Tillerson to leave the region empty-handed, or in worse shape than he found it. – The National Interest
Minxin Pei writes: Unless the upcoming summit reaches a grand bargain that stabilizes U.S.-China relations across the board, the risks that the Trump administration will push back against China on trade and security will remain high and China will have little incentive to help America out where North Korea is concerned. If anything, the unfolding crisis in North Korea could get far more dangerous – The Atlantic
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