The strong return of the US in the Asia-Pacific region

With the appointment of a new commander of the Pacific Command in the final days of 2011, the administration of US President Barack Obama completed a message marking Washington's strong return to the Asia-Pacific region.

Replacing the commander of a force of more than 300,000 soldiers and a fleet of warships and aircraft from the US West Coast to the western border of India, the US's top goal is to handle issues related to the emerging economic-military-security power in Asia-Pacific. However, the US government still has a lot of work to do to make its mark in this region more clear and effective.

New Commander of the Pacific Command - Admiral Samuel Locklear. (Photo: Getty)

In a speech before the Australian Parliament during his recent trip to Asia, US President Obama reaffirmed Washington's position in the Pacific.

“As president, I have made a deliberate strategic decision,” he stressed. “As a Pacific nation, the United States will play a larger, longer-term role in shaping the region’s future by promoting core principles and working closely with our allies and friends in the region.” With military agreements, increased diplomatic engagement with allies, and even a change in its approach to Myanmar, a country that has long been a thorn in the US side, Washington has demonstrated its determination to create a new chapter for its long-term and powerful presence in the region.

Despite the declaration, in reality, political difficulties (internal strife before the race for the White House next year, etc.), economic difficulties (recession, inflation, unemployment, etc.), security difficulties (terrorism risks, reduced defense budget, etc.) force the US to have stronger political will and firm steps to make a spectacular return to the Asia-Pacific. This is a necessary and sufficient condition to convince many countries that are skeptical about the US's ability to implement a policy of increased engagement in this region.

In essence, strengthening relations with allies will remain a pillar of the US's Asia-Pacific policy. According to US Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell, the basis and number one priority for the US to promote its interests in Asia is to maintain strong security relationships with allies or political partners such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Singapore.

The United States will take steps in the coming year to ensure that its special relationship with Thailand is commensurate and capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Of course, these alliance arrangements, while successful, will need to be upgraded to adapt to a changing world.

Continuing to expand relations with countries in the region is a policy that the US will focus on, both to facilitate Washington's easy access to the region and to help solve common problems of the parties. The US "reaching out" to China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Pacific Islands is part of a larger effort to ensure a more comprehensive approach to US strategy and engagement in the region.

The “tripod” situation is also planned by the US with trilateral contacts such as US-India-Japan; US-India-China; Australia-US-India. Clearly, the US is asking emerging partners to jointly shape and participate in a new regional and global order.

It is also vital that the United States and China cooperate in the 21st century. For Washington, this is one of the most important and complex relationships, but one that needs stability the most. In the coming period, Washington and Beijing may open channels of communication to enhance mutual understanding. A future-oriented program in the relationship between the two countries will be the goal promoted by both sides.

The Asia-Pacific region will judge the United States through its attitude and engagement in the region. Therefore, the United States will have to act as an open partner in trade and economy in the region through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), etc. Washington has had a number of important new initiatives such as sending English teachers to Southeast Asian countries to support English teaching, promoting the Mekong Sub-region Initiative. These initiatives will significantly contribute to the United States creating new marks in the Asia-Pacific integration process.

In addition, the US also wants to maintain its influence in regional security and will continue to make efforts to diversify its security capabilities. The military agreement with Australia during the recent visit to Asia is just the beginning. The world will witness the US efforts in the coming months, even years, to diversify its military capabilities abroad through increasing its military bases.

It can be seen that the US is talking more about restructuring its presence in Asia in a flexible and politically sustainable way. To do so, Washington must demonstrate the importance of being attached to this region, engaging in the Asia-Pacific with a sense of responsibility, clear and transparent policies. Otherwise, the achievements in 2011 will not be able to help the US make a real step forward in its relationship with the region that is considered to have written most of the history of the 21st century./.

According to VNA