Publication

This paper examines the US’ policy reorientation towards Asia, which President Obama announced early in his administration and became official policy in January 2012. More specifically, the text’s author outlines four objectives Washington has in Southeast Asia – 1) supporting the development of ASEAN; 2) buttressing defense reforms and institutional restructuring; 3) facilitating humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations; and 4) helping address transnational terrorist and criminal threats. As firm as these objectives are, however, they nevertheless rest on two open questions – will the US’ pivot remain ASEAN-centric, and will China interpret it as a thinly disguised attempt at Sino-containment?