The Obama administration's strategic rebalancing to Asia: Quo vadis in 2017?

• Main Author: De Castro, Renato Cruz
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: United States > Foreign relations administration; United States—Foreign relations—China; China—Foreign relations—United States; Balance of power; United States—Foreign relations—Pacific Area; Pacific Area—Foreign relations—United States; International Relations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2978
• Institution: De La Salle University

From 2011 to 2016, then US President Barack Obama vigorously pursued the policy of strategic rebalancing to Asia. The policy's underlying goal was to prevent China from becoming the dominant power in the Asia–Pacific region. Unfortunately, the Obama administration's efforts were thwarted by the strategy's lack of a deterrence component, distracting shifts and crises in certain parts of the world, and the failure of the US Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership into law. The 2016 election of Donald Trump, however, does not necessarily mean that the strategic rebalancing to Asia is doomed, if not already dead. It is still a “work in progress,” as the region remains a top security priority for Washington for two reasons. First, North Korea's nuclear weapons program poses a clear and present danger to the United States; and second, China's naval build-up and island-building and militarization activities in the South China Sea threaten not only the freedom of navigation but also the rules-based international order. Consequently, the Trump administration has directed the US military to proceed with the rebalancing of its forces and capabilities in the Asia–Pacific. In conclusion, this article argues that despite his administration's rhetoric that the rebalancing is dead in the water, President Trump is heeding his predecessor's advice that “engaging in the Asia–Pacific is critical to America's future prosperity and security.” © 2018 Center for International Studies, Inha University