THE US AS A PACIFIC POWER (II)

COUNTERING CHINA, OBAMA ASSERTS US A PACIFIC POWER

The Economic Times, November 17, 2011

CANBERRA: Signaling a determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday to expand US influence in the Asia-Pacific region and “project power and deter threats to peace'' in that part of the world even as he reduces defense spending and winds down two wars.

”The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay,” he declared in a speech to the Australian Parliament, sending an unmistakable message to Beijing.

Obama's bullish speech came several hours after announcing he would send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia. He declared the US is not afraid of China, by far the biggest and most powerful country in the region.

China immediately questioned the US move and said it deserved further scrutiny.

Emphasizing that a US presence in the Asia-Pacific region is a top priority of his administration, Obama stressed that any reductions in US defense spending will not come at the expense of that goal.
``Let there be no doubt: in the Asia Pacific in the 21st century, the United States of America is all in,'' he said.

From Canberra, Obama flew to the northern city of Darwin, where some of the US Marines bound for Australia will be based. His visit marked the first time a sitting US president has been to Darwin, where US and Australian forces were killed in a Japanese attack during World War II. He opened his quick stop there by laying a wreath at a memorial for the USS Peary, a Navy destroyer that was sunk during that battle.

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