Subject: Re: Called this one
No, this was Trump. It wasn't just leaving the trade pact. I thought that was a horrible deal. We abandoned the region, and China was able to step in and assert more influence. Had we not left, they wouldn't have.

Sadly, we've not done much in the Pacific for a long time. I don't get the "abandoned the region" and the implication that China was somehow ignored by Trump; all the man did was talk about China and the threat they pose...to much criticism from the democrats, I'll add.

Japan responded with an increase in their defensive posture, new weapons development, and expanding their definition of "home defense" (their forces are only supposed to be home defense). Japan could do that. The Philippines, Vietnam, and other nations in the region really can't.

Japan's been giving China the side-eye for years.
https://www.reuters.com/articl...

'We are committed to the security of Japan and all areas under its administrative control and to further strengthening our very crucial alliance,' Trump said. 'The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep. This administration is committed to bringing those ties even closer,' he added.

A joint U.S.-Japanese statement said the U.S. commitment to defend Japan through nuclear and conventional military capabilities is unwavering.

Biden IS a weak President. That this particular blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while is a bug, not a feature.

You may think him weak, but on China he is doing vastly better than Trump did.

Trump actually recognized the problem of China and called it out, repeatedly. No US President ever raised the rhetoric on them the way he did. Let's also recall the USMCA:

https://www.china-briefing.com...
The USMCA zeroes in on the automotive sector. Under the new deal, cars and trucks must have 75 percent of their components manufactured in the US, Mexico, or Canada to qualify for zero tariffs. The limit was 62.5 percent under NAFTA.

This will require automakers selling to North American consumers to stop sourcing some parts from cheaper destinations in Asia, including China, Vietnam, and India ' to avail of tariff benefits, significantly adding to final market costs.

As for Vietnam
https://vietnamembassy-usa.org...
At the invitation of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang, President of the United States of America Donald J. Trump paid a State visit to Hanoi, November 11 ' 12, 2017. The two leaders discussed measures to strengthen and expand the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries based on mutual understanding, shared interests, and a common desire to promote peace, cooperation, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening ties on the basis of previous Joint Statements between the two sides, respect for the United Nations Charter and international law, and each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and respective political systems.

...so saying "Trump abandoned Asia" is a bit off the mark. Especially in light of
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/17...

American and Australian officials have been in highly secret talks for months over a plan to share technology for nuclear-powered submarines, a process that was hatched more than a year ago and accelerated after President Biden took office in January.

In other words, Trump set this up and Biden (again finding an acorn) kept it going, as he should have. Shafting France was another side bennie and there's no way Biden would have done that on his own.