US President Barack Obama's four-nation East Asian tour from Wednesday is aimed at pushing forward Washington's "pivot to Asia" policy. First, his visits to Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines show the US is determined to consolidate its military presence and use its diplomatic power to ensure the success of the policy.
The past year has seen the US taking several measures to further its "rebalancing" to Asia strategy, especially after the Ukraine crisis that has brought it in direct confrontation with Russia, a rare occurrence since the end of the Cold War.
Of course, some American observers say Russia is using the US' "rebalancing" strategy, which has forced Washington to divert attention from Europe, to expand its sphere of influence in Europe. Therefore, they say, the US needs to shift its focus to Europe. But such voices seem to have drowned in the rising sound wave of so-called American experts on Asia, who say the US should see a rising China as its biggest rival and, hence, stay focused on its "rebalancing" strategy.
Second, the US sees a new opportunity of reshaping the landscape of the Asia-Pacific, where the situation now is unstable. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated again despite the Democratic Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea holding a reunion ceremony earlier this year for separated families. And although Obama helped bring together ROK and Japanese leaders for their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague, relations between Seoul and Tokyo show no signs of improving because of their differences over Japan's colonial past.
Moreover, relations between China and Japan are not likely to improve any time soon because of Tokyo's adamant stance, and tensions are rising over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
So, during his visit to East Asia, Obama's goal will be to integrate US allies in the region by trying to broker a deal between the ROK and Japan, strengthening US-ROK security partnership (through more joint military drills) and reassuring the Philippines of US support in its dispute with China. The reason is simple: Washington wants to remove all obstacles that could derail its "pivot to Asia" policy.
There is little doubt that the US' "rebalancing" strategy is aimed at China, because despite vowing not to take sides in the East China Sea and South China Sea disputes, it has been backing Japan and the Philippines. And for Japan and the Philippines, eager as they are to curb China's rise by flaunting the US muscle, Obama's visit signifies support for their actions.