As Trump goes full Joker, Asia must fight back

Asian leaders need to unite and overcome their fear of becoming the latest Twitter target of the US president, says Tokyo based economist William Pesek in his article for Asia Times titled: “As Trump goes full Joker, Asia must fight back”.

Of all the cultural references that might explain Donald Trump’s trade war, the most apt is Heath Ledger’s Joker character in The Dark Knight.

As one character said of the villain from the 2008 blockbuster film: “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Much of this statement could easily refer to the “America First” policy of the current US president.

Not the “money” part, given how he’s turned the White House into an ATM for his family businesses, but on foreign affairs and economic policymaking, Trump clearly has a Joker-like passion for setting the globe ablaze.

Trump’s signal last Friday that he’s ready to go all-in on China-slamming tariffs, tosses additional lighter fluid on an already raging blaze. It is telling, too. The tell is that Trump’s strategy to “make America great again” is to incinerate other economies in ways that will also scorch the US.

The timing is no coincidence. Trump is veering toward Defcon – the world's longest running and largest underground hacking conference – just as Bob Woodward’s new book on this dumpster fire of a presidency burns up the best-seller’s list. Aptly named “Fear,” it depicts an off-the-rails administration driven more by paranoia and revenge than sane plans to raise America’s game.

Trump went ballistic last week over America’s most respected investigative journalist effectively calling him a charlatan. Also last week, the New York Times ran an op-ed by an anonymous senior White House official confirming as much.

Last Friday, Trump’s nemesis, predecessor Barack Obama, took to the podium to deride the “dangerous times” he’s helped foment.

Obama, one could argue, is swooping in, Batman-style, to challenge Trump’s assault on the global order. Yet isn’t it time Asia offered an assist?

Like Republicans in Washington, Asian leaders have been loath to go toe-to-toe with the tweeter-in-chief. One fear is becoming a target of early morning Trump Twitter rants. Another: joining China on Trump’s list of top enemies with all the tariffs that follow.

But where has that gotten the region?

Just ask Prime Minister Shinzo Abe how that Trump Tower sprint worked out for Japan. Nine days after Trump’s shock election in November 2016, Abe raced to Trump’s New York lair to kiss the ring. That day, Abe normalized Trump, calling him a “trustworthy leader.”

Yet “trustworthy” isn’t a word Japan Incorporation CEOs would use these days as Trump says he’ll go ahead with US$200 billion of taxes on Chinese imports. Before long, that figure might grow to $505 billion, the amount of goods China sent to the US in 2017. That would shoulder-check Abenomics, Tokyo’s five-year-plus effort to defeat deflation once and for all.

South Korea’s Moon Jae-in can share similar tales of woe. The president acquiesced to Trump’s demand to renegotiate a free-trade deal in effect since 2012. Moon trusted Trump, pulling him into Seoul’s North Korea détente effort. Yet all this may end in tears as Trump tosses more tariffs on the fire and the White House trades barbs anew with Pyongyang.

Traditional US allies from Singapore to the Philippines to Taiwan to Australia are left wondering what gives. All the more reason for the region to join hands and start pushing back. Asia could wait until November, when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum hold summits (Trump is skipping both). Sooner is better, though.

Why not convene an emergency meeting – or even a conference call – between Asia-region leaders or finance ministers? Even if they demur on criticizing Trump by name, officials should make a strong, unequivocal joint statement against the abject mercantilism emanating from Washington. Abe, Moon and China’s Xi Jinping should be sure to sign on.

The Joker in the White House needs to know Asia supports the forces of globalization he’s determined to kill. It’s not like tiptoeing around the issue has gotten us anywhere. It’s time Asia stopped watching the global economy burn and began dousing the flames.

2+2 talks in India: Futile in terms of US' anti-Iran sanction

by: Vahideh Dindari

New Delhi, Sept 9, IRNA - The recent meeting of the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and its Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with their Indian counterparts Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushm Swaraj concluded with no concrete achievements about Iran sanctions, Indian news sources said.

India is looking for some exemption for its defense plans with Russia and buying Iran’s oil, because both issues are vital for India. 

But the last two-day negotiations between the US officials with their Indian counterparts proved that the US is still following the “America First” policy.

Pompeo, after negotiations with his Indian counterpart Swaraj, said that though the US did not want to ignore the interests of its allies, it is willing to insist on the point that all the countries which seek to keep their warm relations with the US must cut off their relations with sanctioned countries.

Mattis and Pompeo arrived in New Delhi on Thursday (September 6) to meet their counterparts within the framework of a 2+2 dialogue. The reason behind labeling the talks as 2+2 is that two ministers from each countries meet their counterparts to discuss the most important security and strategic issues. 

Indian Foreign Minister had a separate bilateral meeting with Pompeo while Sitharaman met Mattis on Thursday morning before the 2+2 dialogue started.

Pompeo travelled to New Delhi from Islamabad, so Delhi tried to find out his point of view about Pakistan’s new government and its leader Imran Khan. The result was that both India and the US asked Pakistan to stop what they said is the support for terrorism. 

Pompeo left New Delhi for Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday (September 7).

Contrary to the anticipations of the political analysts and observers, the dialogue did not raise the question of the American sanctions against Iran and Russia. 

The talks were about more important issues which will last for many years, Pompeo said.

The most outstanding agreement was about India’s future defense cooperation with America. 

The United States has introduced India as its major defense counterpart in the region, but insists on the signing of several important agreements for India's access to advanced military technologies.

The second important issue was the role of India and the United States in the Indo-Pacific regions. They also talked about terrorism.

**Iran sanctions

The media predicted that during the talks, India will also try to make the point to the United States that the former’s refineries are heavily dependent on imports of oil from various countries, including Iran. At a time when the price of fuel in Indian markets has increased sharply, it is difficult for India to ignore Iran's cheap oil. 

Pompeo emphasized that the United States expected its allies to help it with its policies therefore, any country which wants to save its economic relations with the United States will have to cut off oil imports from Iran before Nov. 4th. 

These countries could compensate for their potential losses due to lack of sufficient fuel by buying oil from the United States, he said.

India imports 83 percent of its oil from several countries, so hiking crude oil prices could be quite important for New Delhi, as the economic growth and inflation of India depend on it.

After Washington's May 8 exit from the historic Iran Deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US gave a 90 to 180 wind-down period to other countries to cut off oil imports from Iran before Washington starts re-imposing oil sanctions on Tehran on November 4.

Part of the US illegitimate sanctions were imposed on Iran on August 9.

Focusing on the issue of the 2+2 talks, veteran Indian journalist and analyst of regional issues Seema Guha told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that 'the India-US talks were aimed at taking forward defense and strategic ties between the two counties. 

“New Delhi’s ties with Washington have warmed considerably ever since a landmark civil nuclear agreement was signed between former President George Bush and India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. From being on opposing camps during the Cold War, India-US ties is picking up speed. Much of it is because of Washington’s desire to balance China’s growing economic and military might in the region with India. 

“The idea of the [George W.] Bush’s Neo-cons (new conservatives within the Republican Party) was also followed by Barak Obama and is now being pushed by Donald Trump. The 2+2 meeting is part of this process and an effort to make India partner of the US in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regional defense architecture. Referring to the Asia-Pacific as Indo-Pacific is an attempt to flatter and woo India.'

She said, 'Delhi is pleased with the tough stand that the Donald Trump administration has taken on arch rival Pakistan. The announcement of cancelling $300 million disbursement to the Pakistan military, ahead of the Pompeo-Mattis visit and constant lecture by Americans to Pakistan on terror, including terror outfits against India is music to Delhi’s ears.' 

'The 2+2 dialogue tomorrow was expected to go well with India and the US having no major strategic differences over the Indo-Pacific, Pakistan or Afghanistan. However, there was major divergence over Iran and Russia,' she said.

India, like the rest of the world was shocked when Donald Trump walked out of the JCPOA, an agreement which had been thrashed out minutely by Iran, the US, Russia, China, France, Germany and the UK.
Despite Tehran’s strict adherence to the deal, which was endorsed by the IAEA inspectors, [President] Trump decided not just to dishonor America’s international commitment, after all the JCPOA was also approved and upheld by the UN. Not just this but [President] Trump has imposed punitive sanctions against Iran. Through crippling sanctions which affects every section of society, the US hopes to get ordinary Iranians to rise against President [Hassan] Rouhani and the establishment. The Americans fail to realize that in cases like this when the US tries to bully Iran, the entire nation closes ranks and stand together, the senior analyst said.

'But for India and other partners of Iran, the concern is about the US decree that any company or entity doing business with America’s adversaries, will be blocked from access to the US markets, its banks and generally barred from the US. This is tough for all business entities.'

Guha went on to note that 'India values its friendship with Iran. It will also look to its strategic interests. So the attempt will be to make Washington also understand its point of view. The fact is despite the [President] Trump administrations wooing of India, for its own self-interest, Delhi would like to keep all its options open and not move in to the US camp lock, stock and barrel. There are many reasons for that, but one is certainly the nature of the [President] Trump White House.'

“The [President] Trump Administration is not a responsible partner. In fact, it has a rouge leadership, which is undermining major international agreements, whether it is the Paris Climate Deal or the JCPOA,’’ continued the Indian analyst quoting Talmiz Ahmed, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who continues to write and study West Asia.

Ahmed believes India will try to leverage its strategic interests in Iran to push for Chabahar construction work by Indian firms working in Iran.

“India knows very well that if it quits Chabahar, the Chinese will happily fill the vacuum. India will be confined to the South Asia and be hemmed in here.

“So during the 2+2 talks, the Indian side batted for Iran, saying its strategic interests are linked with Chabahar. Indian officials also pointed out that Chabahar can play an important part in stabilizing Afghanistan. No one knew what the US reaction may be.

Now all know that India will stand its ground on Iran and Russia, Guha said.