The Obama Administration's Central Asian Energy Diplomacy

After the cold war, central Asia gradually forms the political, economic, resources, market and technological conditions in favor of the United States and from Clinton administration to Bush administration, American Government come to realize the importance of central Asia and gradually adjust its energy diplomatic strategy. Obama administration continues to adopt "Greater Central Asia’s Plan" in the early, however, central Asia becomes seriously again with the policy adjustment. The core targets of Obama government’s energy diplomacy to central Asia include three basic goals. The first one is to maintain geopolitical strategic position in central Asia. Secondly, American must ensure its energy security. Lastly, the whole energy economy should be improved. In bilateral level, Obama government continues to strengthen the bilateral cooperation with central Asian countries in energy development, transportation, and provide various aids through US international aid agency to central Asian. In multilateral level, Obama government takes the international approaches in international organizations to implement its aid in central Asia and actively promote the cooperation between central Asia and European Union, central Asia and South Asia in energy pipelines construction.The energy diplomacy to central Asia of Obama government is influenced by the countries inside and this region. From the inside region, the central Asian countries impact US energy diplomacy mainly based the geopolitical situation and their energy policy to US. The central Asian countries manage the balance of power in the processing of energy diplomacy, which makes any single country cannot get unique advantages from central Asia energy field. From the outside area, there are Turkey, Iran and Russia around central Asia compositing an inside triangle and the western countries including the United States, the European Union, Russia and China constituting the outside triangle. Both of the inside and outside triangle countries compete and cooperate with each other. They are all in pursuit of interests both in economy and geopolitics, which have critical impact on the implementation of American energy diplomacy to central Asia.Because subjected to the difficulties of anti-terrorism and Economic difficulties, Obama administration is to maintain, not enlarge the geopolitical strategic position the United States has made in central Asia, so as to form the relatively stable balance. The competition of energy diplomacy between the United States and the great powers will not lead to vicious competition and threat to regional security. The main danger comes from the unstable relations between the central countries and their domestic instability. Because the central Asian countries don’t trust each other and the other great powers, regional cooperation is difficult in this place. The bilateral energy diplomacy that Obama administration has taken in central Asia increased the mistrust between central Asian countries. The Obama administration mainly supports the western and southern project, which tries to bypass Russia, contain China and isolate Iran. But the effort is not entirely successful. On the one hand, it has formed constraints to China; on the other hand, it also provides new opportunities that are the central Asian countries regarding China as a balance factors rather than a threat and Russia shows more willing to strengthen the cooperation with China.The energy diplomacy to central Asia of Obama Administration is an inheritance and continuing of American central Asia energy diplomacy since the cold war. American central Asia energy diplomacy reflects a certain pursuit of energy economic interests, however, the real concern is to strengthen central Asia’s independence to Russia and its dependence to the United States and sustain the U.S. hegemony through the controlling of the Eurasian heartland. Looking into its action, energy diplomacy to central Asia countries is just the means and methods.