U.S. President Donald Trump on late Friday embarked on his first trip to Asia in his second term, visiting Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, as countries in the region and nearly everywhere else in the world continue to try to adapt to his transactional approach to diplomacy.

Apart from trying to reassure wary allies and like-minded countries of U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific, the climax of Trump’s tour through Thursday is expected to come at the end — a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While China’s presence is increasingly evident in every corner of Asian cities, Trump will first descend on the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to attend meetings with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The United States does not engage with ASEA

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