Dealmaker Trump lands arms deals during Asia tour

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By CGTN's The Point

“There already is a regional arms race,” Donald Kirk, a columnist from the Korea Times said on CGTN’s The Point.

“President Trump and President Moon are probably not getting any closer to what they really think should be done about North Korea [the DPRK].”

His comments come during US President Donald Trump’s ongoing tour of Asia, which has seen him showcase his deal-making skills with some of America’s important trading partners, including Japan and South Korea.

Donald Kirk, a columnist from the Korea Times on CGTN's The Point. /CGTN Photo

Following talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said Tokyo had agreed to purchase “massive amounts of military equipment, as he should,” arguing that America makes the “best military equipment, by far.”

Trump made a similar pitch in Seoul on Tuesday during the second leg of his Asia tour.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in responded at a nationally televised press conference by saying, “We agreed to immediately begin negotiations on South Korea's development and acquisition of the most advanced military surveillance assets.”

A senior Seoul official later confirmed that deal could include nuclear-propelled submarines.

“We are showing great strength and I think they [the DPRK] understand we have unparalleled strength,” Trump said.

Is Trump’s attempt at selling more arms to his Asian allies an effective way of deterring potential aggression from the DPRK? Or will this finally lead to a regional arms race, combined with a removal of the limits to the payload of the South Korea’s ballistic missiles and rotational deployment of US forces?

In fact, after Trump’s previous offers to sell military equipment to Japan and South Korea, the DPRK had already accused Trump of being a “war merchant and strangler of peace” who is trying to bring the world to the “brink of war.”

Presidents Xi and Trump tour the Forbidden City in Beijing at the beginning of Trump's three-day state visit to China. /CGTN Photo

According to Kirk, getting the DPRK back to negotiations through military deterrence and economic sanctions “might not go down well” this time either.

“President Trump said, ‘We are making progress.’ And President Moon indicated that pressure and sanctions should ultimately bring North Korea into negotiation. That’s not a certainty as far as most people are concerned,” he said.

Trump will still, however, be likely to promote American arms in Vietnam and the Philippines later in his trip.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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