OBAMA’S ASIA POLICY: OLD WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE?
Gita Wirjawan
The Jakarta Post, February 10, 2009
No country can match the breadth and depth of American power in Asia. The United States has five treaty allies, the Pacific fleet, 80,000 troops, major military exercises, and billions of dollars of trade and investments. But over the last decade, the signals of US disengagement from the region have become at least as strong as the assets that prove its commitment. For countries in Asia, the key issue is whether they can rely on the US for the next 50 years in the same way they relied on it for the previous half century.
That makes the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Asia next week all the more significant. It will be the first attempt by the Obama administration at defusing perceptions of America’s waning commitment to Asia. In her first trip in her new role, Clinton will travel to China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. The itinerary suggests that she intends to take a closer interest in the region, more so than her predecessor.
But any hopes of a significantly revived US engagement should be tempered with realism. Clinton’s visit ultimately is more about optics than any fundamental changes in its policy towards the region.
The view in Jakarta and other Asian capitals is that President Barack Obama will continue existing US policies in the region for at least the next year or two, being bogged down by other more pressing issues such as Afghanistan and Iraq. He also has to deal with the global financial crisis and a battered American economy.
Gita Wirjawan
The Jakarta Post, February 10, 2009
No country can match the breadth and depth of American power in Asia. The United States has five treaty allies, the Pacific fleet, 80,000 troops, major military exercises, and billions of dollars of trade and investments. But over the last decade, the signals of US disengagement from the region have become at least as strong as the assets that prove its commitment. For countries in Asia, the key issue is whether they can rely on the US for the next 50 years in the same way they relied on it for the previous half century.
That makes the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Asia next week all the more significant. It will be the first attempt by the Obama administration at defusing perceptions of America’s waning commitment to Asia. In her first trip in her new role, Clinton will travel to China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. The itinerary suggests that she intends to take a closer interest in the region, more so than her predecessor.
But any hopes of a significantly revived US engagement should be tempered with realism. Clinton’s visit ultimately is more about optics than any fundamental changes in its policy towards the region.
The view in Jakarta and other Asian capitals is that President Barack Obama will continue existing US policies in the region for at least the next year or two, being bogged down by other more pressing issues such as Afghanistan and Iraq. He also has to deal with the global financial crisis and a battered American economy.
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