The Diplomat.
The Diplomat's Editor Harry Kazianis recently spoke with noted author and president of Eurasia Group, Ian
Bremmer, about President Obama's recent trip to Southeast Asia, how
tensions in the Middle East could affect America's renewed focus on Asia
and China's future.
1. This week President Obama and senior members of his
foreign policy team visited a series of nations in Southeast Asia
including Burma. Many have argued that with ethnic tensions still
unresolved, the Obama administration has moved too fast to restore
relations and trade. Some have also argued the administrations moves
have had more to do with China than Burma itself. What is your take?
During his trip to Myanmar earlier this week, Obama made the trek to
the home of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, where she had spent more
than two decades under house arrest. While the White House was still
planning the trip, she cautioned the administration against visiting
Myanmar at all, urging Obama not to be lured by the “mirage of
success.” So why would Obama make it a priority to visit a country
whose national hero warned him not to do it—a trip that could come back
to bite him if the reform process goes south?
It’s because Obama’s trip through Southeast Asia is all about China.
The Obama “doctrine,” to the extent that there is one, is the pivot to
Asia…and the use of economic statecraft, as originally coined by Hillary
Clinton. Both center on the rise of China and the potential challenges
that come with it, especially if China doesn’t align its behavior with
international norms. There’s a security and an economic component.
Aiming to add Thailand to the Trans-Pacific Partnership—a
potential free trade agreement of like minded countries that could
serve as a counterweight to China’s regional economic dominance— and
removing sanctions on Burma are actions that the United States is taking
through this China lens.
