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US President Barack Obama is to visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in late April, the White House said on Wednesday.
The trip is part of his efforts to broaden US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region on all fronts, from strategic security issues to trade and diplomacy.
Obama had originally planned an Asia trip for late 2013, but was forced to cancel during the budget and debt limit crisis that closed the US Government for more than two weeks in October.
In 2011, Obama used a trip to Asia to announce a new pivot to the region that has seen a shift in military deployment as well as a push to seal a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
In Japan, Obama is to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss modernization of the 54-year alliance, deepen economic ties through the TPP and review diplomatic challenges in Asia. That would likely put the rising tensions with China over historic and strategic issues on the agenda.
In South Korea, the Korea-United States free trade agreement will be on the agenda, as will North Korea’s nuclear programmes.
And in the Philippines and Malaysia, economic and defence ties also will be under discussion, the White House said.
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