From the Road: A Few Answers to Questions You May Have About the President’s Trip to the Asia Pacific
By Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary
Hey everybody, Josh here — checking in from the APEC Summit in Manila. Usually, I spend my time answering questions from the press corps that travels with us to cover the President as he makes his way from meeting to meeting, but I thought I’d answer a few questions here that many Americans may have about the President’s trip in the Asia Pacific. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening across the ocean and why:
What is the APEC Summit and why is President Obama there? APEC stands for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Every year, world leaders from the Asia Pacific region — from Japan, Australia, China, the U.S., and more — come together to discuss ways our countries can tackle common challenges and encourage economic growth in the region.
This year, the Summit is taking place in Manila, where the President hosted a meeting with the leaders of the nations who are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The trade agreement was completed earlier this fall and is the central economic component of the President’s strategy behind the Asia Rebalance — harnessing America’s position as a leading Pacific power to advance our interests, support higher-paying jobs in the United States, and enhance our national security.
Why is the Trans-Pacific Partnership such a priority? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a new kind of trade agreement that eliminates 18,000 taxes on Made-in-America goods and puts in place tough, enforceable labor and environmental standards. That means countries like Vietnam will have to allow workers to form unions and eliminate child labor and forced labor, which will help level the playing field for American workers. Our trading partners in the TPP will also be required to combat wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and overfishing in one of the most biologically diverse regions of the world. If you had sought these kind of standards in a trade agreement twenty years ago, you’d probably be laughed out of the room. But under President Obama, we’ve secured a deal that reflects our values and puts the interests of our workers and businesses first.
That’s a big deal, but don’t take my word for it, check it out yourself here:
What else was on the agenda? It’s been a wide-ranging discussion, but the President has also highlighted our commitment to maritime security in the South China Sea and fighting climate change. The President’s first event in Manila was a visit to a Philippine naval ship that was previously part of the US Coast Guard fleet. Here, the Filipino government has deployed this ship and others to enhance their maritime domain awareness and security in the South China Sea — a region where competing territorial claims have the potential to flare up and disrupt one of the world’s busiest commercial shipping routes. The United States has strongly urged ALL countries with claims to peacefully resolve their differences through diplomacy and dispute mechanisms based on international rules and norms. The President highlighted our $250 million in assistance over two years that the US would provide to the Philippines and our other partners in the region for additional maritime security efforts. The President also hosted a discussion about the economics of climate change before a large audience of business leaders from the Asia-Pacific that gathered in Manila alongside the summit of world leaders. The conversation featured Jack Ma, an executive of Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, and a young Filipina entrepreneur named Aisa Mijeno. She is the CEO of the start-up SALt, or Sustainable Alternative Lighting) which she launched with her brother Raphael. Aisa created a lamp that generates electricity from the simple combination of salt and water, a sustainable way to provide light to Filipinos who can’t afford traditional fuels and currently live off-the-grid. Not only is it cheap, it’s environmentally-friendly, focusing on renewable energies that will help shift us away from those that cause climate change — an issue Aisa cares deeply about.
But I’ll let her tell you about that in her own words.
Why did the President go all the way to Asia to talk to these leaders. Couldn’t he have just done this over the phone? It’s true, there are many ways a president can — and has — talked to leaders across the world, especially when they’re an ocean away. But there is intrinsic value in a face-to-face meeting, whether bilateral or multilateral. By showing up at meetings in the Asia-Pacific region, President Obama sends a clear message that the United States is a Pacific power and we’ll use our influence to promote our values, protect our interests, and strengthen our economy. For instance, on Thursday, President Obama will sit down with Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was welcomed into the TPP discussions among leaders for the very first time. He will also meet with an ally he knows well, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan — a close ally and an important partner in our efforts to secure a comprehensive climate agreement in Paris in the coming weeks. Here’s a look at a few other face-to-face meetings the President has had on this trip:
Every year at APEC, all the world leaders wear matching, traditional shirts of the region. Why is that? This is a great question — mainly because it has a great answer. This tradition is not actually an old one — it started back in 1993 on Blake Island in the U.S. It was the first time an APEC Summit was attended by the heads of state. To keep it casual, world leaders were asked not to wear ties. So President Clinton offered his peers leather bombardier jackets as a gift. While no one really wore them at the time, it sparked a trend. Every year since, the host country has provided each world leader in attendance a piece of clothing, usually a shirt, that reflects local sartorial tradition and style. The best part is that the world leaders, sometimes awkwardly, don the gear for a photo! There were hanboks in South Korea, dry-z-bones in Australia, ponchos in Chile, and it’ll be barongs here in the Philippines.
Check out a few photos from APECs past — and then stay tuned for more from Kuala Lumpur, where President Obama will bring this trip to a close. Got more questions? Follow me on Twitter at @PressSec to ask and also see what else happening from day to day.
