Congressman Castro Shares Views on U.S.-Asia Relations
HOUSTON, January 30 – U.S. Congressman Joaquín Castro (TX-20) visited Asia Society Texas Center to speak on The Trump Administration’s Asia Policy: First Year and the Road Ahead. Long-time supporter and former Texas Center chair Charles Foster moderated the discussion, which touched on a wide array of U.S.-Asia matters, including the ongoing threat in North Korea and China’s growing global influence. Castro serves on the House Intelligence Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, in addition to being the founding co-chair of the U.S.-Japan Congressional Caucus and the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN. He shared that he first became involved with U.S.-Japan relations through Toyota’s investment into his hometown of San Antonio, and he has since become a vocal supporter of increased U.S. engagement with countries in East and Southeast Asia.
Congressman Castro noted recent accomplishments both in the Obama and Trump presidencies, including isolating North Korea from the international community and achieving a denuclearized Iran. In areas where he sees improvements could be made, Congressman Castro focused on global trade and human rights. He argued that although President Trump’s desire to exit the Trans-Pacific Partnership was built on preference for bilateral deals over multilateral, the first year of the Trump presidency has yet to yield much on country-to-country economic trade pacts. Castro also pointed to concerns about reported abuses against the Rohinga minority and pressing Myanmar’s government, including Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, on this issue. Overall, Congressman Castro urged for greater dialogue between the U.S. and its partners, work which he is focusing on through Congressional exchanges with the Japanese Diet, addressing extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, and discussing issues of sovereignty in the South China Sea with both ASEAN member states and the People’s Republic of China.