Trump's trip to Asia a diplomatic balancing act

DONALD Trump is making final preparations for his landmark 12-day trip to Asia with stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. While North Korea will dominate the first part of the visit which starts Sunday, he is also being billed to outline his wider Asia policy for the first time, with an alternative vision to his predecessor Barack Obama's regional "pivot".

Previously, the Obama administration pushed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal to underline its regional commitment, partly to push back on China's growing power and presence, which is a concern for some Asia allies. But the Trump team pulled out of that accord with no replacement initiatives so far.

A key goal of the trip for Mr Trump is to dispel perceptions that he has little interest in this strategically important area of the globe. To do so, he will seek to articulate his political, security and economic ambitions for the region in a speech anticipated in Vietnam at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Beyond allies like South Korea and Japan, the danger is that he and his team may appear on the tour so overwhelmingly focused on North Korea that he may show little affinity for the broader range of issues in the regional dialogue from South China Sea tensions, to regional counter-terrorism, and trade. And this could fuel concerns in some countries that agendas are not aligned, and that the administration cares little for them, especially after Mr Trump cut short his visit by cancelling his attendance at the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) summit in the Philippines.