WASHINGTON: As US President Donald Trump concluded his 10-day Asia trip on Tuesday, an international media group — Reporters Without Borders — on Wednesday deplored his treatment of the media during his visits to various Asian capitals.

The group, which is better known by its French acronym RSF, noted that Mr Trump visited several countries that were home to some of the worst press freedom predators.

“The trip demonstrates a continuing decline in the US government’s willingness to defend press freedom in its bilateral and multilateral relationships with other countries,” it added.

RSF claimed that press freedom has been on “a steady downward trend” in the United States since January this year, when Mr Trump assumed power. The report also claimed President Donald Trump “took some of his restrictive anti-press practices” with him on his official trip to Asia last week.

“From denying reporters access to certain events, to refusing to take questions, Mr Trump was able to give the leaders of China, Vietnam and the Philippines a front-row seat to his disdain for freedom of the press,” RSF complained.

The report noted that while past US presidents made it a point to take journalists’ questions during trips abroad, journalists accompanying Mr Trump to China were not given the opportunity to ask either Mr Trump or Chinese President Xi Jinping questions during a joint “press conference” that took place Nov 9.

The report claimed that both Mr Trump and Mr Xi were known for their hostility towards the press.

RSF also noted that during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Danang, Vietnam, on Nov 10 and 11, the White House press corps’ access to key events was severely limited, leaving many journalists wondering what was happening behind closed doors.

First, reporters were barred from covering an Apec dinner on the 10th, which featured guests like Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The press’ exclusion from the dinner was all the more significant given that the investigation into Mr Trump campaign collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election and the White House’s repeated denial are currently dominating media coverage in the US,” said the RSF report.

On Nov 11, the majority of the White House press pool were kept in a separate room and barred from covering a photo-op between Mr Trump and other Asian leaders.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2017