U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone on Friday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, becoming the first U.S. president or president-elect to do so since President Jimmy Carter adopted a one-China policy in 1979. He was not supposed to do that because that would not be aligned with decades of diplomatic practice.

 

By having a formal call – and even tweet about it – the badass Trump is essentially honouring the Taiwan, a calculated move to test water on how furious China will become. In order not to be seen as falling into the trap, Beijing is expected to play it cool by claiming Donald Trump is still a president-elect, not yet a president.

Now that it’s confirmed Donald has nominated General James “Mad Dog” Mattis to be his defence secretary, Trump administration is expected to adopt a tougher policy toward China than President Barack Obama. General Mattis has a reputation as a battle-hardened, tough-talking Marine who was entrusted with some of the most challenging commands in the US military.

 

However, for “Mad Dog” Mattis to be confirmed, Congress would first have to approve legislation bypassing a law that bars retired military officers from becoming defence secretary within 7 years of leaving active duty. General Mattis would be only the second retired general to serve as defence secretary, the first being George C Marshall in 1950-51 during the Korean War.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, General Mattis commanded the Marines who launched an early assault into Afghanistan and established a US foothold in the Taliban heartland. Two years later, he helped lead the invasion into Iraq in 2003. As head of the Central Command from 2010 until his retirement in 2013, he was in charge of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

There was a reason why General James Mattis is called “Mad Dog”. He raised eyebrows in 2005 when he told people that it was “fun to shoot some people”. For that reason alone, China should expect more resistance from Trump administration in the dispute of South China Sea. Trump deliberately called Taiwanese president to tell Beijing that there’s a new sheriff in town.

“During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties … between Taiwan and the United States. President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of Taiwan earlier this year,” said a statement from Trump’s transition team. As expected, Obama administration didn’t know about the phone call until it had taken place.

 

Besides Taiwanese president, Donald Trump has also spoken with the Philippines President Rodrigo “Dirty Harry” Duterte. In a “very engaging, animated” phone conversation with the “Trump of the East”, the U.S. president-elect invited Duterte to the White House next year. Obviously, Trump is trying to fix the sour relationship caused by Obama administration.

Duterte has praised China and told Obama to “go to hell” and called him a “son of a bitch” after President Obama lectured him about human rights abuses in Duterte’s war on drugs, during which more than 3,000 people have been killed. Trump blamed Obama for failing to take the time to get to know world leaders.

 

Although Duterte dropped a bombshell during his visit to China in October and announced his “separation” from the United States, the Philippines president is likely playing both sides – Washington and Beijing – to get the best deal for his nation. Duterte’s appointment of special envoys to Washington is the best proof he isn’t serious about “cutting ties” with the U.S.

In fact, Trump’s victory could offer Duterte a face-saving way to move back from his anti-U.S. rhetoric. It’s a win-win situation for Duterte to befriend both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the same time. In reality, the Philippines president wants financial assistance from China while maintaining military protection from America.

 

Strangely, there has been no sexy news about Donald Trump calling Najib Razak, despite the fact that like Duterte, the Malaysian prime minister has also shifted alliance towards China as well as scolding the U.S. for interfering in the internal affairs of Malaysia. The only news that both Najib and Donald have ever talked came from Malaysian government-controlled news media.

Najib Razak brags about being Trump’s favourite prime minister and golf buddy. Yet, Trump has praised President Nursultan of Kazakhstan for “fantastic success”, called Pakistan a “terrific country” before accepting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s invitation to a visit, but didn’t say much about Malaysia’s success, let alone inviting Najib to the White House.

 

The lack of international news praising Najib’s administration could be the reason forcing a frustrated First-Lady Rosmah Mansor into gloating exercise – first about Trump asking Najib to call him back at 4:30am but after being laughed and ridiculed, she continued with another tale on how her daughter Nooryana Najwa called at 4am, thrilled to have met Ivanka Trump, the daughter of Donald.

It’s not hard to understand why Najib and Rosmah were so desperate and obsessed to be seen on the good book of Donald Trump. Although U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be jobless after Trump selected Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the new U.S. Attorney General, it’s unlikely the new A.G. will drop lawsuits slapped by Lynch on Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz.

 

Flashback – the U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced on July 20, 2016 that the Justice Department filed lawsuits to seize assets that it said were the result of US$3.5 billion that was misappropriated from 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd), a fund set up by Najib Razak himself in 2009 and exploded as the U.S. largest single action ever brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

In the same breath, it’s not hard to understand why Donald Trump reluctant to praise Najib Razak, if indeed Najib was the president-elect’s favourite prime minister to begin with. How could Trump announce to the world what a fabulous Malaysia is when 1MDB scandal has stretched from Malaysia to Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, U.S., UK and Luxembourg?

 

How could Trump praise Malaysia as a great model of a moderate Muslim country when Najib had praised ISIS and is now working with extreme Islamist party PAS towards implementing ancient barbaric Hudud law? How could Trump praise Malaysia as a great democracy country when repressive Najib administration consistently suppress and oppress freedom of speech?

How could Trump praise Malaysia as a role model of a multiracial country when Najib flashes race and religion cards threatening minority non-Muslims whenever he likes? How could Trump praise Najib Razak as a fantastic Muslim leader when the Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber has revealed Najib’s 1MDB was nothing but a “Ponzi Scheme“?

 

How could Trump praise Malaysia as a corrupt-free country when Najib Razak was “a poster boy for the 21st century kleptocracy” whom in order to save himself from 1MDB scandal, he had replaced the Attorney-General unlawfully, removed the lead investigators and intimidated the leadership of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Central Bank.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Sorry UMNO Folks, Here’re 12 Differences Between Donald Trump And Najib Razak
• Here’s Why Maria Chin’s Mysterious Release Could Be Related To Donald Trump
• China & Philippines Are “Blood Brothers” – Bidding Goodbye, Duterte Says U.S. Has Lost
• Swiss A.G. – Najib’s 1MDB Scammed At Least $800 Million Using “Ponzi Scheme”
• After Calling Obama “Son Of A Bitch”, Now Duterte Wants To Eat Terrorists – “Alive & Raw”
• Tribunal: No Basis To China’s South China Sea Claim, But Who Dares To Enforce It?
• How Come The Chinese Always Get The Blames & Beatings – Part 2?
• Meet Rodrigo Duterte – Philippines’ New President 10-Times Crazier Than Trump
• WSJ’s Last Bombshell For The Year – Najib’s $700 Million Came From 1MDB

Tweet

December 3rd, 2016 by financetwitter

If you enjoyed this post, what shall you do next? Consider: