Kurt Campbell: Asia's spearhead in the Joe Biden era

The “pivot” architect

Kurt Campbell was a name that was mentioned quite a lot during the period when former President Barack Obama was in power and Mr. Joe Biden was Vice President. This trio began to focus on "pivoting" US foreign policy to the Indo-Pacific region, later known as the "rebalance to Asia" policy. Mr. Campbell was then Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He played an important role, if not the "main architect" of the Obama administration's pivot to Asia policy at that time.

Veteran politician Kurt Campbell has been appointed as “Indo-Pacific Coordinator” under Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

Having worked with Mr. Campbell, former Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar said, it was Mr. Campbell who actively promoted this strategy. During that period, the US shifted its naval activities from the Atlantic to the Pacific, cooperating closely with allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and strategic partner India. Looking back from the 1990s, Mr. Campbell was also appointed as a senior official of the US Department of Defense for Asia. Within 2 years, he promoted and expanded the US-Japan alliance as well as established close defense cooperation between Washington and Tokyo.

In 2007, Mr. Campbell co-founded the Center for a New American Security with Michele Flournoy, who was considered for the position of Secretary of Defense to the Vice President. Since leaving office in 2013, Mr. Campbell has been the President and CEO of Asia Group, a consulting firm he founded. Mr. Campbell also has a close relationship with Jake Sullivan, a close aide to Mrs. Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State.

In late 2019, these two characters jointly published an article with the topic “Competition without disaster: How America can both challenge and coexist with China”. The views of these two characters are that the administration of President Donald Trump was right whenidentify China as a competitorstrategy in the 2017 National Security Strategy. However, Mr. Campbell and his colleagues believe that this competition must take place with vigilance and humility, and adhere to the principle of coexistence with China, not the goal of changing the opponent. According to observers, these two figures will still be "like-minded" when Mr. Sullivan will soon return to "join the army" of the Joe Biden administration as National Security Advisor.

US-China relations are the focus of Asia policy under Joe Biden. Photo: AP

Old bottle, old wine?

Born in 1957 in California, USA, Mr. Kurt Campbell graduated from Oxford University, University of California San Diego and St. Cross College. Mr. Campbell is a well-known politician in the region with extensive diplomatic experience. He also has good relationships with politicians in both the Democratic and Republican parties. This is believed to facilitate the upcoming US administration's Asia policies.

Another fact is that although the Republicans repeatedly criticized Mr. Biden's team on China during the recent presidential campaign, it can be said that policies on the Asia region are an issue that has achieved a rare broad consensus in Congress since the Obama era. In particular, the majority of opinions believe that it is necessary to strengthen relations between the US and its allies or protect important technology sectors from rivals from Beijing... Therefore, the choice of Mr. Kurt Campbell can be said to beJoe Biden's strategic moveto seek a bipartisan "nod" on Asia strategy, including dealing with Beijing in the coming time.

However, looking back, Mr. Biden and his campaign team seem to have ignored the term “Indo-Pacific,” just as the current President Donald Trump administration has “disregarded” any legacy of the “pivot to Asia” policy of his predecessor, Barack Obama. Therefore, many opinions are expressing concerns about the future of the “Indo-Pacific” strategy under the Biden administration. However, Mr. Biden in many statements said that he will continue to focus on China’s growing “presence” and “aggression” in the region, but with a different approach.

Mr. Kurt Campbell published the acclaimed book “The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia”. Photo: NCUSCR

Meanwhile, Kurt Campbell’s “right-hand man” on Asia has also been noticed when he outlined his approach to Asia in his book “The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia” in 2016. In it, he emphasized the view that the US needs to strengthen existing alliances; at the same time, tighten relations with countries like India and Indonesia to deal withthe rise of China. Therefore, America’s allies in Asia can rest assured about the “priority” that the Joe Biden administration gives to the region, when announcing the appointment of Kurt Campbell for the position of “Indo-Pacific Coordinator”. However, the real test coming is whether Mr. Biden will devote enough time and resources to realize the strategy mentioned in “The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia” or not!

Meanwhile, many difficulties and challenges await the administration of President-elect Joe Biden and his "Asian right-hand man" Kurt Campbell. That is the legacy of Mr. Donald Trump with the unending US-China war, the consequence of the US withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), the shaky alliance relationship when the US threatened to withdraw troops from South Korea... Mr. Campbell's mission in Asia is also more difficult due to China's recent moves. Most recently, Beijing has agreed with the European Union (EU) on a highly anticipated bilateral investment agreement. This step further hinders the process of tightening the transatlantic alliance of the Joe Biden administration. That also means Mr. Campbell must shoulder the responsibility of balancing and harmoniously handling Europe's approach to China and Asia policy under Joe Biden.