Obama’s vision for Asia
Vishakha DESAI
Asians are keen to hear Obama’s thoughts about a new or renewed
international system, and hope that his vision of a new global order
will incorporate the rising countries of Asia as America’s partners
Now that Barack Obama has made history by being elected President of
the United States, people throughout the Asia-Pacific region fervently
hope he will focus on Asia in a way that he did not during the election
season.
Countries like
India feel that the US, along with Europe, have been on both
sides of ‘free’ and ‘fair’ trade - but always from a narrow
nationalistic perspective |
In the past few months, every time I visited an Asian country -
whether South Korea or India, China or Japan - I was asked repeatedly
about candidate Obama’s positions on three issues: trade, foreign
policy, and the new geo-economic order. We all now hope that
President-elect Obama will provide the answers, not only in words, but
also in actions.
Policy wonks and interested Asians alike often say that when
Republicans are in power in America, Asians breathe a confident sigh of
relief. Their assumption is that Republicans will back free trade and
oppose protectionism.
This time around, they have not heard much from the President-elect,
who is a Democrat, on trade with Asia, and what they have heard about
his position on the North American Free Trade Agreement - an alleged
desire to rewrite that trade pact unilaterally - does not inspire
confidence.
At the same time, countries like India feel that the US, along with
Europe, have been on both sides of “free” and “fair” trade - but always
from a narrow nationalistic perspective.
If the US is serious about “fair” trade, they say, the new
administration will need, for example, to deal with the unfairness of
agricultural subsidies, which led to the collapse of the Doha round of
World Trade Organisation talks. Most importantly, a trade policy must be
articulated that is both free and fair (not only for US workers, but
also for Asian workers), and that reassures Asians that Obama will be
aware of their needs.
While the US economy falls into a deep recession, the economies of
large Asian countries like China and India will continue to grow at an
annual rate of 7 percent to 9 percent. They will remain an important
source of import demand, especially for high technology and industrial
goods. This could be a great boon to the US economy.
Asian leaders have often complained that at a time when Asia became
increasingly interconnected and China began to enlarge its sphere of
influence, America was largely absent in the region.
Indeed, for the past seven years America’s foreign policy seems to
have been conducted entirely through the prism of the “war on terror”
and the Iraq war. While there were some singular bilateral
accomplishments, such as the adoption of the US-India civil nuclear
energy deal, the US has been perceived to be less effective in dealing
with the region’s burgeoning multilateral frameworks.
Now, fully aware of Obama’s claims for a presidency that will be
about the future, Asians are eager to hear about his vision of the
Asia-Pacific region and how the US will deal with Asia’s giants - China
and India - while maintaining strong connections to Japan.
The need for Obama to address the region’s new realities early in his
tenure has been underlined by the current financial crisis, which has
made abundantly clear that the centre of global economic power has
shifted toward the East.
It is also clear that the West’s future role will depend on how
America manages this new distribution of power.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has begun to talk about a Bretton
Woods II that would give a bigger voice to Asia in the world’s great
multilateral financial and economic institutions, and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy has asked that China help the West during these
difficult times.
And, while scholars have begun to talk about building an Asia-Pacific
community that can match the Atlantic community’s extensive network of
relationships, there has been no clear signal from the US government
about America’s role in this transformation.
So Asians are keen to hear Obama’s thoughts about a new or renewed
international system, and hope that his vision of a new global order
will incorporate the rising countries of Asia as America’s partners.
I was in Korea last week, and several of my friends and colleagues,
some in prominent public positions, were thrilled at the prospect of the
new US president. They marvelled at the fact that America’s democracy
can actually make it possible for a youngish African-American to become
the leader of the free world. Now, this rising region is desperate to
hear Obama’s thoughts about America’s role in Asia, thoughts that are
commensurate with Asia’s importance - and with the scope of his vision.
- Daily Times |