Why Obama Aimed at Tackling China in the Whole Trip - Essay Example

News Analysis Towards the end of February two thousand and fourteen, the United s of America witnessed a drop in trade deficit. There was a three point six percent decrease amounting to more than forty billion United States dollars down from almost forty two billion dollars early in the same the same month. The average was close to what economists projected at a flat forty billion United States dollars. A major contributor came from increased exports that struck the one hundred and ninety four billion mark from the previous one hundred and ninety billion dollars. Channel four carried in its financial editorial that the United States is likely to see swings favoring exports with imports taking advantage of post-winter corrections. The trend would mostly likely have a flat graph. On twenty-third of February this year, Belinda Carlisle kicked off the two thousand and fourteen Northalsted Market Days. Carlisle is the voice behind both “We’ve Got the Beat” and “Our Lips are sealed.” The news was that the pop star was heading to Boystown in preparations to kick off the thirty-third yearly Northalsted Market Days. Still in the entertainment industry, Mikal McLendon and Kyle Thomas the filmmakers of the about-to-be-released Sex and Love web series aim at exploring dating, sex, and romance among the members of generation Y that entails mainly the youths. The entertainment industry also gave information concerning the ultimate success of Steve Grand, the country singer in funding the album concerning kickstarter. Among the news trending on televisions was the ending of the efforts by the Republican from Illinois repeal the gay marriage law. The senator in question was Kyle McCarter. Reactions from various leaders across the globe reacted to the missing Malaysian plane, MH370. This was the same time that Malaysian Prime Minister delivered the sad news that the missing plane crashed in the southern coats of the Indian Ocean. According to other analysts, announcement by the Prime Minister marked the end of new analysis of satellite information designated to track the flight. This paper undertakes an examination of how the British Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News covered the tour of the US president in Asia. United States President Barrack Obama toured Asia in efforts aimed at give a boost to his administration efforts of rebalancing in the Asian continent. Most experts around the globe including those in the media and academic spheres across the US and in the European Union in addition to those in Asia share similar views about the trip. Speaking to Xinhua, Kenneth Lieberthal pointed out that the President regards the region seriously as development partners apart from strengthening his government’s foreign policy. The scholar feels that President Obama is right in considering Asia one of the most important economic zones in the world. Sentiments by the expert are similar to those given by Susan Rice, who of the view that important value promotion, security matters, as well as business interests tie the United States to the Asian region. The trip by the President covered South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and the Philippines. However, the goals of the trip also narrowed down to individual countries with the President attending to specific interests between the US and the host nation. Several media outlets around the globe covered the trip in different aspects bringing on board analysts from different academic backgrounds to analyze the tour. This discourse considers the analysis from the British Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News among all the media channels which covered the tour. The paper proceeds to make a comparative analysis of the two media outlets and evaluates different stylistic devices applied. It is important to note that the tour was planned for October two thousand and thirteen but a tussle between the Senate and the Congress pitting the Democrats against the Republicans forced the shutdown of government services consequently forcing the cancellation of the tour. Among the highlights of the trip was the Trans-Pacific Partnership business deal covering Malaysia and Japan out of the four destinations. This was important because efforts preceding the presidential visit by emissaries from Japan and the United States were fruitless forcing the senior political authorities to intervene during the tour. This was evident from the speech by Japanese minister in charge of The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Akira Amari suggesting that it would difficult for President Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to sign wide bilateral trade agreements because of the loggerhead in the earlier negotiations. Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Foreign Minister shared the same sentiments by Susan Rice that the visit by the US President that Japan will seek to use the tour re-affirm that the alliance between the two countries remains dear to the people and government of Japan. According to Kishida the relationship is firm and unshakeable and central to the diplomacy of his country. Apart from Tokyo, the President also toured Seoul. He held talks with his counterpart Geun-Hye Park. At the centre of the talks was the Korean Peninsula. The United States President tired to ease tension between Tokyo and Seoul. However, the President attempted to counter the pressure exerted by China concerning the desire to have a six-party roundtable discussion according to Douglas Paal. Before the Obama trip, the president of China held phone conversations with President Park reiterating his commitment to ironing out the differences involving the Korea Peninsula (Coulthard, 2012, p. 31). Seoul on the other hand, expressed the commitment to communication with being open over the issue. In the midst of the doubts from other quotas, the visit by the president showed just how the United States was committed to its Asia policy regarding balancing of issues. Analysis Throughout the entire trip British Broadcasting Corporation carried the headline that, as much as President Obama avoided Beijing, his eyes remained focused of China. The news reporter held that President Obama addressed to audiences in each of his stop during the tour. The two audiences were China and American allies. Sudden change of the relationship between Russia and America appeared to complete balancing efforts by the United States of America. The BBC placed the entire trip in a way that made the tour precarious (Dressler, 1978, p. 21). The editorial carried the message that the greatest beneficiary of the new Cold War pitting Russia and the United States is China. Furthermore, the editorial stated that China has been benefiting from the same tensions that spans several years. America is scared that China would take advantage of the acrimonious relationship to assert itself in the region. BBC aired that throughout the trip from Japan through to South Korea as well as Malaysia, the president delivered a message to his allies while passing a coded message to China that it would have another opportunity to open another front of the Pacific Edge. The experts on BBC questioned the tour of four countries not comfortable with the position of China while skipping China in the process (Martin, 2011, p. 29). They further explored the quest by the United States of America to have China developing peacefully and responsibly guiding others in the rule of law while at the same time abiding by specific norms. It is important to understand at this point that BBC questioned more the essence of the tour coming in from the questioning perspective of the tide. Obama made it clear to China not to emulate or copy adventures by Kremlin. Dismissing the economy of Russia as dependant on gas and oil, President Obama posed that continued embargo on Russia over its role in Ukraine would ultimately cripple the former giant Soviet Union. According to the President the economy of Russia is already facing numerous challenges. The President had a withering reflection of Kremlin. He advised Russia to become contemporary just like many other economies around the globe and diversify its economy rather than rely on fossil fuels that form the bedrock of the Russian economy. The rest of the world keeps developing further and further and it would be difficult for Russia to catch up with them if it continues to rely of fossil fuels. This type of assessment by the BBC would easily come as painting Washington from one perspective. However, it presents an evaluation from an angle of projection that gives the audience a way of making judgment over the position of Obama on the East allies and perceived foes. Categorically outlining the headline being a tour focused on China yet they proceed to give details of the position taken by Washington on Kremlin, simply illustrates how the media giant decided to create a thinking position among the audiences. The coded message to China regarding Russia was asking them to stick with the winning team. Pointing out failures by Kremlin, the President informed Chinese officials contemplating closer ties with Kremlin to reconsider such as step because actions by President Putin would make Russia crumble. By cautioning Beijing against imitating Russian adventures, Obama was making it clear to China that what Kremlin was doing in Eastern Ukraine was not worth emulating. It is not a framework that another emerging giant such as China would admire and adopt. Sky News analysts took a different stance from the one headlined by the BBC. Jeffrey Bader, a former senior National Security Council advisor to China while speaking to Sky News slammed the BBC for taking few poorly selected phrases to reflect the trip by the United States of America President as a containment tour. In his view, the president succeeded in striking a balance between the United States and both Seoul and Tokyo. Sky News reported in its editorial that Obama achieved by confirming to the allies about any former treaties remaining intact while giving statements towards China selectively. That according to Bader explains why Beijing remained muted lacking any response to the statements made by Obama. The only reaction came from office of the ministry of Foreign Affairs that objected the statements by President Obama that the Security treaty between Washington and Tokyo gives America the responsibility to protect islands found in the East China Sea under the administration of Japan. Comparative Analysis These analysts on Sky News went beyond analyzing the statement delivered by President Obama. Sky News held that speeches by Obama were O.K, but questioned the president’s tone and demeanor. Here, the voices claimed that he tried to avoid entangling China by being nuanced. Among the analysts was Narushige Michishita, a security expert based at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. Sky News appeared balanced in its presentations because some of their analysts were very objective. Lee Geun based at Seoul National University, questioned the probable outcome of either China or North Korea taking the Russia side in the Ukraine crisis. The other possibility was the tow China and North Korea taking a joint action. He sort to understand what the United States would do if such a situation occurred. Officials from the United States put forward that the position of the US is much stronger in Asia than before quoting Malaysia and Myanmar more than willing to engage with them. The two were formerly either isolated by the United States or were close allies of China. According to the officials, the tie is shifting. What was common across the two media giants was that they both concurred on the view that it was a balancing exercise from the United States President. While in Malaysia, Obama met political leaders reprimanded by China on the way they handled the issue of the missing Malaysian airliner that went missing with most of the passengers from China. This is in addition to the territorial dispute between China and Malaysia falling in the South China Sea, where Malaysia would more than openly welcome the support from Washington (Culler, 2013, p. 19). Rhodes Benjamin, a national security expert held that powerful or stronger nations do not have the authority to coerce smaller or less powerful nations but rather have a responsibility to guide and lead through specific norms. The same message spread over to Philippines. Stopovers by Obama appeared carefully chosen to include those brushed by China wrongly. For a long time now, Philippines remains locked with China over the Scarborough Shoal (Dijk, 2012, p. 06). This is a famous fishing ground occupied by Chinese forces illegally according to Philippines. A welcome present from America to Philippines was the announced of the US to bolster its warship s and warplanes in the Philippines. This would add the strength of the United States military presence following the relinquishing of Subic Bay Naval Base in nineteen ninety-two. This message to China was not coded by clear and bold. It was left to Philippines to clear its domestic legal affairs ready to receive the contingent. In demonstration of its position and might, Air Force One flew over a territory in East China Sea held onto by China tempting protests from Tokyo. China issued instructions for any plane requirements to fly over the zone. Air Force One defied that and flew smoothly after only filing for a routine flight (Dijk, 2006, p. 311). There was no response for China over the action by Washington to fly the United States President over a designed zone. Comparatively, the BBC and Sky News took two different dimensions in their coverage of the trip by the United States President to Asia. In his tour to the continent of Asia in his first term in two thousand and nine, the media around the world dubbed the tour, “America’s first Pacific president.” This time it became, “pivot to Asia.” The two media giants, the BBC and Sky News in different perspectives posited that the four-country tour of Asia by President Obama aimed at reassuring Pacific allies that Washington remained focused on the region. In his first visit to the region in two thousand and nine, Obama put efforts to renew economic as well as diplomatic relations with Asia (Cohen, 1981, p. 51). The same took place this year two thousand and fourteen albeit amidst the crisis in Ukraine, Republican lawmakers against his trade expansion policy, and distractions coming from recent disasters in transportation involving two of his stopovers. The visit that involved South Korea, Japan, Philippines, and Malaysia came after authorities in the Whitehouse called off a scheduled tour in October two thousand and thirteen following the government shutdown necessitated by Republicans in the Congress before the Democratic-dominated Senate came to his rescue. At the time of cancellation, BBC took a remarkable position of questioning the capacity of the administration to cancel a tour aimed at checking the growth of one of the strongest emerging threats to the United States. This position appears different from the current that looks biased and one-sided. On the other hand, Sky News appears consistent where in October last year; they traced the trip to first term when Hillary Clinton, then the Secretary of State and the president put strategies to restate the position of the United States in the Asia Pacific (Dijk, 1980, 62). Sky News held that this was different from the traditional emphasis on Europe and hotspot Middle East. In its balancing evaluation Sky News reminded the world that heightened tensions with Iran and the crisis in Ukraine and Syria appear to headline news compared to American efforts in Asia Pacific. However, the efforts remain intact, enhanced, and increasingly prosperous. A case in point is the Obama administration defying the odds to allocate more military resources in the region on the backdrop of substantially reducing Pentagon spending. Victor Cha based at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies for instance, agrees on Sky News that the Whitehouse currently faces a bit of distraction on their efforts to Asia Pacific. However, if both media giants took this path of analysis it would be difficult to view the trip from all angles of elevation (Cohen, 1972, p. 81). The trip by the President covered South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and the Philippines. However, the goals of the trip also narrowed down to individual countries with the President attending to specific interests between the US and the host nation. Several media outlets around the globe covered the trip in different aspects bringing on board analysts from different academic backgrounds to analyze the tour (Dooling, and Lachman, p. 1971, 216). This discourse considers the analysis from the British Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News among all the media channels which covered the tour. The paper proceeds to make a comparative analysis of the two media outlets and evaluates different stylistic devices applied. It is important to note that the tour was planned for October two thousand and thirteen but a tussle between the Senate and the Congress pitting the Democrats against the Republicans forced the shutdown of government services consequently forcing the cancellation of the tour (Crystal, and Derek, 2009, 71). Victor Cha explains that behind the cameras people would question where the pivot coined by both Obama and Clinton on Asia is. In the second term it became rebalancing as opposed to the pivot. In his view, the president succeeded in striking a balance between the United States and both Seoul and Tokyo. Sky News reported in its editorial that Obama achieved by confirming to the allies about any former treaties remaining intact while giving statements towards China selectively. That, according to Bader explains why Beijing remained muted lacking any response to the statements made by Obama (Carbonell, 1976, p. 6). The only reaction came from office of the ministry of Foreign Affairs that objected the statements by President Obama that the Security treaty between Washington and Tokyo gives America the responsibility to protect islands found in the East China Sea under the administration of Japan. The Chinese foreign ministry asserted that the islands are administered by both China and Japan and not just Japan as held by Washington. The trip by President Obama carrying a strong message to the region demonstrated the commitment of the United States and was an important compensation to the missing link in the questions regarding the pivot and rebalancing. The BBC applied the statements from the Obama administration that relationships with Asia remained strong in spite of flashpoints in other sections of the world. BBC focused on questioning this assertion by evaluating why Obama aimed at tackling China in the whole trip. Somehow, this presentation was skewed. The message from Obama to China was cautionary especially in thoughts regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea. Presentation by the BBC appeared like America was comfortable focusing on one region and leaving other parts of the world. Other analysts felt that while the trip by the US president demonstrated the capacity to walk and chew the gum, the BBC reported on contrary (Dijk, 1977, p. 33). The crisis in the Middle East and Ukraine did not have the capacity to curtail efforts by the Obama administration to engage Asia Pacific. It was clear that the United States was advancing its interests in Asia Pacific during the trip. Bibliography Carbonell, Jaime, Jr. Subjective Understanding. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Computer Science, Yale University, 1979. Cohen, Stanley. 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