China (and others) Take Notice of Obama's Rebalancing in Asia

In this media piece, the voice of the Chinese government reveals its concern for the rapid military buildup in terms of both arms and alliance that is defining the security environment of east and south Asia. The language is alarmist -- some quick examples:

Since the start of the year, U.S. armed forces have massively and incessantly engaged in joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.

 It seems that the United States has developed a fresh yen for waging military exercises with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Apart from the drills' dazzling intensity, what is more alarming is that some of these exercises have even openly taken China as the imaginary enemy.

The Obama administration, since its first year in office, has demonstrated a fervent desire to deter China by strengthening its military alliances with countries like South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, as well as some other Southeast Asian nations.

By setting China as its simulated foe and making a parade of its military prowess in the region, the United States intends to send out a message that no one is allowed to challenge its dominant position in the region.

And the article invokes US electoral politics as well --

Another reason for the rising military involvement of Washington in the region this year is that by trying to play tough against China, Obama could hopefully woo more voters in his presidential race.

The U.S. moves, based on Cold War mentality, would only aggravate regional tensions and plague China-U.S. relations.

Moreover, they would embolden a few regional countries to take rather irresponsible attitudes when handling their maritime disputes with China, and further push the entire Asia-Pacific area to the brink of military conflict.

The electoral connection is low-hanging fruit, hard to resist. And no one would ever accuse me of being blind to the politics of foreign policy, indeed, I simply expect political advantage to be at minimum an unconsciously considered factor in a policy maker's decisions.  However, in this context the assertion is absurd. First, Obama did not create an Asia-centered foreign policy out of thin air. China's new great power status has been emerging for decades, and all presidents have had to deal with the complex mix of conflict and cooperation that defines Sino-American relations. As China has progressed as a world player and as a major trading partner with the United States, the issue of managing relations with China has risen steadily on presidential agendasas they work toward .  Major headline-grabbing crises between the two countries have been sporadic, and thus China may not always have been the most visible presidential priority, but relations have been steadily intensifying.  Thus, whoever would be president in 2012 other than Obama would undoubtedly be pursuing similar policies, though details may have varied. For example, it cannot be known if another president would have pursued the exact bilateral and multilateral alliances as the incumbent. Second, the military buildups on the scale of those Obama is pursuing in the Persian Gulf and in Asia are serious matters, not prone to superficial campaign tactics. The extensive diplomacy required by American civilian and military agencies and their international counterparts is simply not subject to electoral dynamics, though doubtless any successful diplomacy will be used as campaign fodder. Indeed, one motivation for this blog is to rebut many of the rather generic and typical criticisms levied at Obama's foreign policy.

It's clear that Obama's aggressive pursuit of alliances to establish a balance of power system in Asia is worrying the Chinese as they face a great deal more uncertainty  than many people realize, uncertainty in both domestic and international affairs.  Obama's Realpolitik is not without its benefits for those who advocate a values-driven foreign policy as Myanmar/Burma makes strides toward democracy as it gets closer to the U.S. (and farther from China), and even in Vietnam there may be glimmers of change along with international engagement.


In this piece published in an online Filipino news source, a militant group leader is quoted as warning against U.S. diplomatic and military moves in the region. In doing so, he presents a rather insightful summary of new and renewed U.S. relations with the Philippines, Australia,  etc.  The point, however, is to highlight the report as another indication that when the U.S. Navy moves in, potential aggressors take notice and sound a warning, hoping to use fear as an avenue for greater support. This goes for the CCCP as well a Filipino militia.  Walter Pincus of the Washington Post makes similar points about the Middle East, where a similar U.S. strategy is arming, training and organizing the Arab states and Gulf Cooperation Council into an international deterrent against Iran.

The next post will include a listing and video/documentary summaries of recent major international military exercises that the United States is using to build, solidify, and prepare these incipient coalitions.