U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is embarking on his first trip to Asia.
He's rarely been seen in public and that's raised lots of questions, as our U.S. correspondent Priscilla Huff reports:
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Since the first day he stepped into the building
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"Well, my first day is here. I'm on the job. Hi, I'm the new guy. (Applause.)"
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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has rarely been seen in public
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to the point that the U-S State Department had to defend him against critics who argue,
he's little valued by the White House
Acting Spokesman Mark Toner
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"With respect to the State Department's voice in this new administration, I can also assure you that Secretary Tillerson is very engaged with the White House, very engaged with the President, speaks to him frequently, was over there I believe just yesterday for a meeting. And I can assure everyone that the Secretary's voice – or the State Department's voice is heard loud and clear in policy discussions at the National Security Council level."
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While Secretary Tillerson has been seen supporting U-S President Donald Trump's executive order limiting immigration
He's been excluded from key meetings, including the recent visit of Mexico's foreign minister.
and there are problems looming for the U.S. State Department.
if President Trump follows through on his promises
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We're also going to send Congress a budget request that will include one of the largest increases to defense spending in our history
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That same budget cuts spending at the U.S. State Department by a third.
For analysts such as Mindy Kotler of Asia Policy point, this is the opposite of his experience as the Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil
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"He comes to it as an oil business man which is a very different construct than how we have dealt with Asia in the past, which we have dealt with not merely commerce but through security, human rights , through the history issues. there's a range of things I don't think he's actually familiar with as a business man. And he has to be a fast study, and it's only been a few weeks."
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Secretary has met with key counterparts in the region
But where the Trump adminstration's policy toward Asia is headed is unclear
Susan Thornton is the U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia & the Pacific)
TAKE THORNTON
"On the issue of pivot, rebalance, um, that was a word used by the previous administration to describe the asia policy in the last administration, you can probably expect this administration will have it's own formulation and y'know, we haven't seen in detail, um, of what that formulation will be or whether there will be a formulation."
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The U-S has deployed THAAD anti missile defense systems to South Korea
a move which has upset China.
Mindy Kotler of Asia Policy Point
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"His biggest challenge is to say that we have an asia policy, we have a stable asia policy and we remain interested in the region and interested and close to our allies."
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North Korea's continued work toward nuclear weapons capability has been singled out by the Trump Administration ahead of this Asia trip
as an issue of particular concern
Again, Susan Thornton of the State Department:
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"The united states is committed to holding North Korea accountable for it's flagrant and repeated disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions which expressly prohibit it's ballistic and nuclear weapon program."
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And as U-S President Donald Trump has walked away from trade deals
trade ministers who were part of the Trans Pacific Partnership are meeting in Chile.
For U-S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
he'll leave snowy Washington
and a crowd of frustrated reporters
for stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing
But it's unclear what policy specifics he's bringing with him.\
Priscilla Huff, Washington
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