Trump appoints new assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs

The newly appointed assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Gen. David Stilwell

Appointment of hardliner against China possible signal of US aggressive policies toward Beijing

The newly appointed assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Gen. David Stilwell

US President Donald Trump appointed retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David Stilwell on Oct. 17 to serve as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, placing him in charge of US diplomacy for the Asia/Pacific region.

Stilwell served in the Air Force for 35 years before retiring in 2015 and is currently director of the China Strategy Focus Group at the US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii. He is also known to have a fluent command of Korean, with the White House describing him in a press release the same day as “proficient” in the language. Enlisting in 1980 as a Korean language expert, he served as Osan Air Base until 1983. He also worked at Kunsan Air Base from 1993 to 1995 as an F-16 pilot.

A proficient Chinese speaker who worked as a defense attaché at the US Embassy in China from 2011 to 2013, Stilwell is considered a hawk who adopts a hard line on Beijing. He also has experience working together with current US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris – himself considered a China hardliner – as deputy director for Asian affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff while Harris was serving as commander of the US Pacific Command.

Analysts said his selection as assistant secretary of state may be meant to signal Trump’s commitment to aggressive policies on China in areas including the two sides’ trade war, conflicts in the South China Sea, and the North Korean denuclearization issue.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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