London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

‘Optimism and hope’: Moon, Lee and other Asian leaders sing Biden’s praises

‘Optimism and hope’: Moon, Lee and other Asian leaders sing Biden’s praises

The new US president’s inaugural speech and executive actions to rejoin the WHO and Paris Agreement won plaudits throughout the region.

US President Joe Biden’s appeal to Americans in his inauguration speech to end their “uncivil war” of political division had a domestic focus, but observers say his inclusive message and even-tempered tones will have deep resonance in Asia – where leaders are eager to quickly put the chaos of the last four years behind them.

That sense of relief about Biden’s succession of his mercurial predecessor, Donald Trump, was evident in social media messages posted by regional leaders after the one-of-a-kind, socially distanced ceremony in Washington on Wednesday.

The upbeat global mood should grant Biden a honeymoon period as he seeks to repair Washington’s damaged image in the coming weeks and months, observers said, noting that significant hurdles remained for the new president given the disparate expectations of his administration from countries around the world.

Biden’s inaugural speech and immediate actions after taking office – he signed executive orders for the US to rejoin the World Health Organization and to bring it back into the fold of the landmark climate accord known as the Paris Agreement– were widely lauded throughout Asia.

Much of the congratulatory messages from Asia-Pacific leaders, from President Joko Widodo of Indonesia to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, centred on strengthening ties with Washington.

Nydia Ngiow, a Singapore-based senior director with the BowerGroupAsia political consultancy, said Biden had on day one of his presidency given rise to “cautious optimism and hope”.

“This is evidenced by messages from world leaders looking towards reconnecting and welcoming a partner back to the fold,” Ngiow said.


Not everyone in Asia was overjoyed that US President Joe Biden had taken office. Supporters of Donald Trump in Tokyo held a rally ahead of Biden’s inauguration.


With his speech taking place barely two weeks after the shocking insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters who had hoped to forestall the leadership succession, Biden said the eventual transition was evidence that the “will of the people has been heeded”.

“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile,” Biden said. “And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was particularly effusive in praising Biden for the message, saying on Twitter that his inauguration heralded the dawn of a “new beginning” for the US. “Together with the Korean people, I stand by your journey toward America United,” he said.


Writing on Facebook, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he wished Biden “every success in his endeavours” to heal the divisions in the US after the “contentious and bitter” November elections.

Adding to those remarks was Tommy Koh, the retired Singaporean diplomat whose views about US ties with Asia, in particular Southeast Asia, are highly sought by policymakers and regional analysts. “After the chaos of the last four years, Asia can expect a period of stability, rationally and competence,” he said on Facebook.

David Adelman, the US ambassador to Singapore from 2010 to 2013, told This Week in Asia that his sense was that world leaders were “breathing a sigh of relief today knowing the new occupant of the White House is a reliable, steady hand committed to restoring America’s reputation as a purveyor of peace and prosperity”.

Also weighing in was Frank Lavin, another former US envoy to Singapore who now lives in the city state. Lavin said that despite the speech’s domestic focus, it would likely deeply resonate with global audiences because of its substance.

“I think what was successful about his speech is that he spoke in an inclusive, even-tempered tone and he held out an appealing vision of America, one that was civil, successful and would come to terms with Covid-19,” he said.

Meera Shankar, a former Indian ambassador to the US, said the initial signal to the world from Biden was that the US would sharply depart from the unpredictability of his predecessor.

“It seems that Biden will have a traditional foreign policy which is less mercurial and less predictable as it was during the Trump era,” Meera told This Week in Asia.

Most observers flagged Biden’s decision to sign an executive order for Washington’s re-entry into the Paris Agreement as the most significant element of his first day in office.

The Trump years not only represented “time lost in the global effort to curb climate change but also significant backsliding from one of the largest carbon emitters in the world,” said Rohan Mukherjee, a foreign policy researcher with the Yale-NUS college in Singapore. Nonetheless, “rejoining the accord is an important signal to the world that the US is ready and willing to play a leading role in global governance again instead of actively dismantling some parts of the international order while quietly watching other parts crumble.”

Joseph Liow, an international affairs analyst with the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the new US president would have to pay heed to Asia’s hopes that there will be genuine engagement on issues such as climate change.

“Biden should also demonstrate that he is aware of the constraints and challenges faced by regional states in their specific contexts, which may be very different from that which prevails in North America or Western Europe,” he said.

Attention is expected to next pivot to the Biden administration‘s actions and policies regarding China, analysts said.

The president‘s soon-to-be confirmed secretary of state nominee, Antony Blinken, told Congress on Tuesday that he agreed with the “basic principle” of Trump’s muscular approach to Beijing, although he said he had different views “with the way he went about it in a number of areas”.

“a more conducive climate to ensure collaboration on Covid recovery, economic recovery, and wider regional cooperation” as well as the maintenance of regional centrality through the 10-nation Association of Southeast Nations.

In Thailand, analysts said the return of a Democrat as a president could prove to be a double-edged sword for the military-backed government that has for months been dealing with student protests.

The kingdom, along with the Philippines, is one of Washington‘s two formal non-Nato allies in Southeast Asia.

“A Democratic administration would mean more engagement [in Thailand] than the Trump administration,” said David Streckfuss, an independent Thai politics scholar.

“Biden has said that he wants allies to know that the US is back,” he said. “That would mean more engagement with the world, and as such, it might result in more pressure for authoritarian regimes like Thailand.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×