WASHINGTON—U.S. President Barack Obama has postponed trips to Malaysia and the Philippines in order to deal with the partial government shutdown in the U.S., throwing confusion over his forthcoming Asian visit that includes gatherings attended by world leaders.
The White House is still evaluating whether Mr. Obama will follow through on plans to travel to Indonesia, where he is scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, followed by Brunei, which hosts a series of summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its major trading partners.
The preliminary APEC meetings are already under way and the leaders gather Monday and Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Malaysia and the Philippines in Mr. Obama's place. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker are also involved in the diplomatic swing.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak broke word of the changes, telling a news conference that Mr. Obama had called to inform him that he had to postpone his visit.
No dates were announced for future visits to either nation, whose leaders will, in any case, also be attending the APEC and Asean meetings. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that President Benigno Aquino III "understands" Mr. Obama's decision.
"There's no political implication,'' said Ramon Casiple, a political analyst and executive director for Political and Electoral Reform in the Philippines. "It just shows the depth of the crisis, of the shutdown that President Obama has to attend to it.'"
The White House said it couldn't get personnel in place to handle the visits to Malaysia and the Philippines, which came at the end of a four-nation swing. It cited the shutdown that has forced agencies to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
"Logistically, it was not possible to go ahead with these trips in the face of a government shutdown," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. She said the "completely avoidable shutdown is setting back our ability to promote U.S. exports and advance U.S. leadership in the largest emerging region in the world."
Mr. Obama canceled a trip to Indonesia, a country where he spent part of his boyhood, in March 2010 because of the debate over health-care reform. It was delayed a second time, as was a visit to Australia, by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico a few months later. Mr. Obama finally visited Indonesia that November.
Mr. Obama had been scheduled to leave on Saturday to attend the multination conferences in Indonesia and Brunei before visiting Malaysia and the Philippines as part of his broader push to boost political, economic and security ties with the vibrant Southeast Asian region.
Major powers attending the APEC summit in Bali include Russia, China, Japan and other Pacific Rim countries, and Mr. Obama plans a meeting with leaders of the 12 nations taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of Washington's major trade pact priorities.
Mr. Obama is then scheduled to depart for the annual leaders' meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which again will include important Asian powers, in addition to the 10 member countries of Asean.
Indonesian, APEC and Asean officials said they had no word that Mr. Obama's attendance at their events was being canceled.
"We will try to confirm with them, but I think they will notify us," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
In Malaysia, Mr. Obama had scheduled to speak at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit—an initiative he announced in 2009 to spur job creation—in his first visit to Kuala Lumpur. In Manila, he was expected to discuss economic and security ties.
The U.S. government shutdown, the first in nearly two decades, occurred because Congress failed to approve legislation to fund the government in the new fiscal year, which began Tuesday.
Funding plans have become entangled in a debate between the two political parties about the new federal health law, the Affordable Care Act. Democrats and Mr. Obama support the law, while Republicans want to repeal it or scale it back.
No signs of a quick resolution have arisen, as both sides continue to place blame on each other for the impasse and have set no timetable for negotiations.
SOURCE : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304176904579110910182129066.html
The White House is still evaluating whether Mr. Obama will follow through on plans to travel to Indonesia, where he is scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, followed by Brunei, which hosts a series of summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its major trading partners.
The preliminary APEC meetings are already under way and the leaders gather Monday and Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Malaysia and the Philippines in Mr. Obama's place. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker are also involved in the diplomatic swing.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak broke word of the changes, telling a news conference that Mr. Obama had called to inform him that he had to postpone his visit.
No dates were announced for future visits to either nation, whose leaders will, in any case, also be attending the APEC and Asean meetings. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that President Benigno Aquino III "understands" Mr. Obama's decision.
"There's no political implication,'' said Ramon Casiple, a political analyst and executive director for Political and Electoral Reform in the Philippines. "It just shows the depth of the crisis, of the shutdown that President Obama has to attend to it.'"
The White House said it couldn't get personnel in place to handle the visits to Malaysia and the Philippines, which came at the end of a four-nation swing. It cited the shutdown that has forced agencies to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
"Logistically, it was not possible to go ahead with these trips in the face of a government shutdown," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. She said the "completely avoidable shutdown is setting back our ability to promote U.S. exports and advance U.S. leadership in the largest emerging region in the world."
Mr. Obama canceled a trip to Indonesia, a country where he spent part of his boyhood, in March 2010 because of the debate over health-care reform. It was delayed a second time, as was a visit to Australia, by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico a few months later. Mr. Obama finally visited Indonesia that November.
Mr. Obama had been scheduled to leave on Saturday to attend the multination conferences in Indonesia and Brunei before visiting Malaysia and the Philippines as part of his broader push to boost political, economic and security ties with the vibrant Southeast Asian region.
Major powers attending the APEC summit in Bali include Russia, China, Japan and other Pacific Rim countries, and Mr. Obama plans a meeting with leaders of the 12 nations taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of Washington's major trade pact priorities.
Mr. Obama is then scheduled to depart for the annual leaders' meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which again will include important Asian powers, in addition to the 10 member countries of Asean.
Indonesian, APEC and Asean officials said they had no word that Mr. Obama's attendance at their events was being canceled.
"We will try to confirm with them, but I think they will notify us," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
In Malaysia, Mr. Obama had scheduled to speak at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit—an initiative he announced in 2009 to spur job creation—in his first visit to Kuala Lumpur. In Manila, he was expected to discuss economic and security ties.
The U.S. government shutdown, the first in nearly two decades, occurred because Congress failed to approve legislation to fund the government in the new fiscal year, which began Tuesday.
Funding plans have become entangled in a debate between the two political parties about the new federal health law, the Affordable Care Act. Democrats and Mr. Obama support the law, while Republicans want to repeal it or scale it back.
No signs of a quick resolution have arisen, as both sides continue to place blame on each other for the impasse and have set no timetable for negotiations.
SOURCE : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304176904579110910182129066.html
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