Assessment And Outlook Of The Obama Administration’s Strategy Of Returning To Asia-Pacific

Asia-pacific region has been on the rise in the U.S. global strategy since the end ofcold war. In the21stcentury, economic globalization has given a strong boost to therise of emerging powers represented by China and India, accompanying with theirreversible trend of multi-polarization of global politics. The world order thatdominated by the west countries over several centuries is changing in a peacefulmanner. Asia-pacific region is becoming a new global geopolitics and economiccenter. A group of emerging powers like China and India are rising at greater speed.At the same time, Iraq and Afghanistan war have restricted America’s strategicinvestment in Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. has a great stake in terms of theeconomic interests in this region. All these elements have become the direct causefor the Obama Administration to adopt a new Asia-Pacific strategy.The overarching objective of the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region is to consolidate andstrengthen America’s leadership, at the same time, it is also aimed to sustain a stablesecurity environment and a regional order rooted in economic openness, peacefulresolution of disputes, and respect for universal rights and freedoms. At the firsttenure of Obama’s presidency, the U.S. has taken three strategic tools: strengtheningbilateral security alliances, deepening working relationships with emerging powers,engaging with regional multilateral institutions, by which America has enhanced itspresence in the whole region. And other actions also have been taken to renew itsleadership in three major aspects: expanding trade and investment, forging abroad-based military presence, advancing democracy and human rights. An obviouscharacteristic of Obama administration’s Asia-Pacific strategy is that America hasstrengthened its intervention and dominance in security issues by taking advantageof security emergency in this region, with which the U.S. renewed its relationshipwith alliances and made strategic adjustment to its military deployment inAsia-Pacific region. That is to say, the U.S. military presence has stood more outcompared with its economic approach “TPP” and political measure “joining theEast-Asia Summit”. It is fair to conclude that the Obama administration has obtained“substantive” results byinvesting some “immaterial” strategic posture.On the one hand, Asia-Pacific strategy is not the whole picture of America’s globalstrategy. In his second tenure, Obama administration will strike a balance between the Asia-Pacific strategy and global strategy, a balance between northeast Asia andsoutheast Asia, a balance between military, economic and political tools, a balancebetween China and its surrounding countries. On the other hand, geographicdistance, uncertainties in American economy and deficit cut, and new developmentsin the middle-east area will stand on the way of pursuing the ultimate goal ofAsia-pacific strategy by the Obama administration. Among others, a soundinteraction between China and America is of great importance, which can shape thefuture of Asia-Pacific region in the21stcentury.