U.S. & the Asia-Pacific Countries: Deepening Relations

In the Autumn of 2011, the Obama Administration issued a series of announcements indicating that the United States would be expanding and intensifying its already significant role in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in the southern part of the region. The fundamental goal underpinning the shift is to devote more effort to influencing the development of the Asia-Pacific’s norms and rules, particularly as China emerges as an ever-more influential regional power. Given that one purpose of the pivot or rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific is to deepen U.S. credibility in the region at a time of fiscal constraint, Congress’s oversight and appropriations roles, as well as its approval authority over free trade agreements, will help determine to what extent the Administration’s plans are implemented and how various trade-offs are managed. This book examines U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries relations with a focus on Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Guam, Singapore and Taiwan.