Diplomatic experience is optional for the president’s friends

In diplomacy, it’s not always what you know — it’s who you serve. The White House has tapped a self-professed Hooters fan and an orthopedic surgeon for two key postings in Southeast Asia, a front line in the battle for influence between the U.S. and China. The inexperienced candidates for Singapore and Malaysia are raising eyebrows in a region Washington is already alienating with its trade war. In the short term, a political appointee close to President Donald Trump could be positive. Longer term, Washington risks losing out on decades of carefully crafted diplomacy and relationship-building that have served to advance American interests. The nominations came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first official visit to Asia, where he attended the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. His trip also coincided with the renewal of tariff threats on regional economies, which Trump would impose on Aug. 1, Rubio confirmed, if countries don’t strike agreements by that deadline or shortly after. An ambassador who has the prWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times