Continuing the Strategic Rebalance
As declared by his predecessor, Secretary Mattis announced that the US remains committed to protecting the rights, freedoms and lawful use of the sea, and the ability of countries to exercise those rights in the strategically important East and South China Seas.
Consequently, in May 2017, the US Navy conducted three separate Freedom of Navigation (FON) patrols near Chinese-occupied features in the South China Sea.
The USS Dewey sailed near the Chinese occupied Mischief Reef on 25 May. In July, the USS Stethem conducted a FON operation in the Paracels to challenge the excessive maritime claims by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. This was followed by two US B-1 Lancer bombers from Guam that flew over the South China Sea. These FON sorties in the South China Sea reinforced the Obama administration’s strategic commitment to rules- based order through naval power.
During the 2017 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Secretary Mattis reiterated all the themes emphasized by previous administrations ( especially the Obama administration) on “the US being a Pacific Power, and the Asia Pacific region being a priority for Washington” and declared that “security is the foundation of prosperity, and the US will continue to strengthen ( its) military capabilities in the region.”
The North Korean nuclear ambition and escalating rhetoric has become a top security concern.
US defense officials believe that within a decade, it is possible that North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles will be capable of hitting US territories in the Pacific and the continental USA posing “a clear and present danger” to global peace and stability.
In late October, Secretary Mattis reiterated that the US will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Acting primarily on diplomacy, the Trump administration is not shy about its military options. The US has tried to elicit Chinese support by asking Beijing to tighten security along its border including tighter customs inspections, travel ban, and asset freeze on North Korean entities involved in nuclear and ballistic programs. The US, Japan and South Korea are also working together to apply economic and diplomatic pressure.
THE REBALANCING CONTINUES
The Trump administration’s current foreign policy behavior in East Asia reflects continuity rather than discontinuity with the Obama administration’s rebalancing policy.
This stemmed from an appreciation and understanding that the US must play a leading role in strengthening American alliances, partnerships, and regional institutions that widely share American commitment to a rules-based international order as the foundation of peace and stability in East Asia. This is also based on the acceptance of the stark reality that American leadership in the Asia-Pacific region is being challenged by China.
Two American analysts quipped this point, “Asia remains a high priority region; administrations may change but national interests do not.”