\n For all the meticulous planning of Donald Trump's Asia tour, one question may plague his jet-lagged advisors: Can the notoriously impulsive president navigate nearly two weeks of diplomatic protocols and geopolitical pitfalls -- all the while keeping his Twitter habit in check?\n<\/p>\n
\n North Korea and trade talks will top Trump's agenda on his marathon tour of the region, as Air Force One whisks him between five countries in 12 days.\n<\/p>\n
\n A crammed itinerary will see the president attend summits with communist bosses, a reception at Japan's imperial court and -- of course -- play nine holes of golf.\n<\/p>\n
\n But his his personal rapport with a rotating cast of the region's leaders is likely to determine the success or failure of his trip, with global repercussions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Trump enjoys a friendly relationship with Japan's Shinzo Abe, and a frosty start to dealings with Xi Jinping has blossomed into a near-bromance with the Chinese leader praised as \"powerful\" and \"pretty terrific.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n But an uncertain welcome lies in store in South Korea -- which Trump has accused of appeasing a certain \"Rocket Man\" to the North -- and the Philippines, where any mention of human rights is liable to send President Rodrigo Duterte further into the arms of Beijing.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I expect this will be an unconventional visit by an unconventional president\" said the Brookings Institution's Ryan Hass, a former security advisor under the Obama administration.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Japan, Nov 5-7 -\n<\/p>\n
\n With Japan and the US so closely aligned on policy, one expert has suggested that Trump is only stopping by to get in a round with his golfing buddy Abe.\n<\/p>\n
\n The pair will hit the fairways only hours after Trump lands but, perhaps given the seriousness of the international situation, they are only expected to play nine holes -- not the 27 they managed in Florida.\n<\/p>\n
\n In another attempt to put the president at ease, Japan is rolling out wacky crooner and internet sensation Pikotaro, whose bizarre 45-second \"pen-pineapple-apple-pen\" ditty went viral last year.\n<\/p>\n
\n That will be a prelude for a meeting with the Japanese emperor -- a protocol minefield that tripped up Barack Obama when he bowed deeply to the 83-year-old Akihito, drawing fire from conservatives.\n<\/p>\n
\n - South Korea, Nov 7-8 -\n<\/p>\n
\n In Seoul, Trump is scheduled to address South Korea's parliament, raising concerns he could go off script and send tensions with the nuclear-armed North spiralling with an impromptu remark.\n<\/p>\n
\n Trump has been engaged in an escalating war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, trading threats and personal insults. In his maiden address to the UN General Assembly he threatened to \"totally destroy\" North Korea.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"If Trump says anything that can provoke North Korea, it could send military tensions soaring again,\" said Koo Kab-Woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.\n<\/p>\n
\n Arriving in South Korea after Japan, Trump will have to tread carefully to avoid any suggestion that he favours either of the two key US military allies -- whose own ties are strained by historical issues.\n<\/p>\n
\n The US president has a much cooler relationship with left-leaning South Korean President Moon Jae-In -- who he has accused of appeasement towards the North -- than he does with Abe.\n<\/p>\n
\n - China, Nov 8-10 -\n<\/p>\n
\n China is preparing to greet Donald Trump with what Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai described as a \"state-visit plus,\" with an extra dose of pomp and circumstance for the billionaire real estate developer.\n<\/p>\n
\n Beijing is expected to roll out a military honour guard, formal banquet, and billions of dollars of trade deals that the American leader can tout on Twitter.\n<\/p>\n
\n The elaborate stagecraft comes against a backdrop of a wide range of contentious issues, from a yawning trade deficit to Beijing's handling of obstreperous neighbour North Korea.\n<\/p>\n
\n But the virulent anti-China rhetoric of Trump's election campaign has given way to effusive praise for Xi.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"He's a powerful man,\" Trump recently declared. \"I happen to think he's a very good person.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n David Dollar, an expert on China's economy at Brookings, predicted Xi will grant Trump a lavish welcome but few concessions.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The Chinese are basically quite content with the status quo of the economic relationship,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Aside from pressing matters of trade and security, another issue hovers over Trump's visit -- will he be able to break through the so-called Great Firewall in a country that has blocked Twitter?\n<\/p>\n
\n Asked whether Trump will be able to tweet while on Chinese soil, vice foreign minister Zheng Zeguang told reporters: \"How President Trump communicates with the outside is not something you need to worry about.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n - Vietnam, Nov 10-12 -\n<\/p>\n
\n Thanks to several draft deferments, Trump studiously avoided Vietnam during the war era, but arrives in the Southeast Asian country with trade topping the agenda.\n<\/p>\n
\n He is expected to wax lyrical on his \"America First\" doctrine, calling for bilateral deals and free markets for US goods at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.\n<\/p>\n
\n He will also come face to face with members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) still bristling at his decision to pull out of the massive trade pact, which he decried as a \"killer\" for American jobs.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Philippines, Nov 12-13 -\n<\/p>\n
\n In the Philippines, where Trump will take part in a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, the US president's signals on Duterte's controversial crackdown on drugs will be closely watched.\n<\/p>\n
\n The drug war has claimed thousands of lives and led rights groups to warn he may be orchestrating a crime against humanity.\n<\/p>\n
\n Duterte infamously branded Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, a \"son of a whore\" for criticising the campaign, sending relations into a deep freeze.\n<\/p>\n
\n Trump praised Duterte's handling of the drug war in a telephone conversation early this year, helping to mend ties but leading to criticism that the American president had little regard for human rights.\n<\/p>\n
\n The most dramatic moment may come when the pair meet, a moment when Duterte typically urges visitors to do his trademark clenched fist salute.\n<\/p>\n
\n Critics have compared the gesture to Adolf Hitler's Nazi salute, and say it represents Duterte's disdain for human rights.\n<\/p>\n
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For all the meticulous planning of Donald Trump's Asia tour, one question may plague his jet-lagged advisors: Can the notoriously impulsive president navigate nearly two weeks of diplomatic protocols and geopolitical pitfalls -- all the while keeping his Twitter habit in check? North Korea and trade talks will top Trump's agenda on his marathon tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-35132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n