A military agreement with the Philippines and easing an arms embargo against Vietnam show that US President Barack Obama’s administration wants deeper security ties with Asia, even as turmoil in the Middle East has undermined its hope of making Asia the heart of its foreign policy.
The “pivot” was intended to be Obama’s signature push in foreign affairs. As the US disengaged from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would devote more attention to the Asia-Pacific region and US economic interests there.
However, it has not turned out as planned. Washington is grappling with the fallout of the Arab Spring, a growing rivalry with Russia and the rise of the Islamic State.
Against this chaotic backdrop, the growing tensions in the South and East China seas and US efforts to counter the rise of an increasingly assertive China appear peripheral concerns — the pivot gets few people in Washington excited these days.
Obama did not even mention it in a sweeping foreign policy speech in May and negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership — the main economic prong in the pivot — have been mired by differences between the US and Japan over agriculture and auto market access, as well as by opposition to the pact among many of Obama’s fellow Democrats.
Yet the administration is still chipping away at its grand plan for a rebalance to Asia that began within months of Obama taking office in 2009, when the US signed a cooperation treaty with ASEAN.
The US has since ended its decades-long isolation of Myanmar, in response to democratic reforms there. It has taken a more strident diplomatic stance against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and some concrete steps to shore up its allies’ ability to respond. In April, Washington signed a 10-year agreement to allow thousands of US troops to be temporarily based in the Philippines.
Like the Philippines, Vietnam has been engaged in standoffs with China over disputed reefs and islands. Tensions spiked from May to July after China deployed a deep-sea oil rig near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which Taiwan also claims.
Chris Brose, who is Republican Senator John McCain’s foreign policy adviser, said that the US still has to convince Asia that the rhetoric of the pivot can become reality.
“The question is not whether America is doing something. Clearly America is,” Brose told a Washington think tank on Friday. “The question is whether what America is doing adds up to a set of actions that’s fundamentally impacting China’s calculus.”
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old