May 31, 2018
Asean is the fulcrum of a free and open Indo-Pacific
More than half a year has elapsed since President Donald Trump's inaugural Asian tour, during which he announced a US vision of a "free and open Indo-Pacific". The bare bones of that regional concept were previewed in the President's remarks at Apec last November, in December's National Security Strategy, and other official pronouncements. Despite this, the region remains understandably hungry for more details and concrete action symbolising the administration's rhetorical commitment to this vision.
Events are partly to blame for America's sluggish rollout of its latest regional vision. We can thank Mr Kim Jong Un for several months of frantic search for a breakthrough with North Korea that still may emerge at a Singapore summit. The shuffling of top personnel at the White House and the State Department created a temporary hiccup, but may well catalyse more policy action in the long term.
Fortunately, the administration's inner circle on Asia policy have not been idle. The fruits of their effort will be apparent in the coming months of this year, stretching from the Shangri-La Dialogue through the Asean Regional Forum gathering of foreign ministers, to the East Asia Summit.
Read the Full Article at The Straits Times
More from CNAS
-
A Stroll Through the Indo-Pacific, the Most Important Region in the World
In this episode, we get into what’s driving the Indo-Pacific’s security dynamics, from China’s threats to Taiwan to AUKUS and the Quad to stability (or lack thereof) on the Ko...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Assessing China’s Nuclear Decision-Making
China’s rapid nuclear buildup is raising questions about how the country makes decisions related to nuclear weapons. This policy brief analyzes that trend by presenting three ...
By Jacob Stokes
-
ChinaTalk: Building Compute in America
Despite leading the world in AI innovation, there’s no guarantee that America will rise to meet the challenge of AI infrastructure. Specifically, the key technological barrier...
By Tim Fist & Jordan Schneider
-
U.S., China, and Economic Warfare: A Conversation with Mr. Edward Fishman
In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Mr. Edward Fishman, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins to discuss the evolving landscape of e...
By Edward Fishman