Building ties: Trump and Xi walking together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida. — AFP
THE hand-wringers of the past five months who forlornly expected that wider Asia was poised to be cashed out by an America under President Donald Trump are probably breathing a bit easier lately.
Although Washington timed it poorly – US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Jakarta coincided with the Indonesian capital’s frenzied election to appoint a new governor – it is noteworthy that Pence pointedly drove to the Asean Secretariat to deliver a key message.
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