Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates have just completed a very successful trip to Asia. Their foray
into Asia stands in stark contrast to the president's own disastrous trip (see
Leslie Gelb's critique here),
and the inappropriate "we are back" braggadocio displayed by his White House
advisers (see Dan
Twining). Despite the White House's smack-talk, the President has now
cancelled his return to Asia three times, to the great consternation of Asian
leaders.
Here is what Clinton and Gates accomplished: They shored up
the South Korea alliance, and in so doing, they reassured Japan. Mrs. Clinton
deftly forged closer ties with Vietnam while at the same time pushing them to
respect human rights. Mr. Gates lifted restrictions on cooperating with the
Indonesian military, paving the way for a stronger defense relationship. And
both spoke out strongly about the South China Sea, which China has provocatively
claimed to be its territorial waters. Here is Clinton on the matter: "The United States has a national
interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia's maritime commons, and
respect for international law in the South China Sea."
Clinton and Gates are practicing what one might call a
distinctly American realism. The realism is manifest in the return to balancing
China's power in the region, something the president said he would avoid as
anachronistic. The distinctly American approach is practicing balance of power
politics without abandoning our principles. We want and need a better
relationship with authoritarian Vietnam. But we need not ignore Hanoi's poor
human rights record. On Indonesia, the military undoubtedly committed abuses in
the past. But Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono is a democrat who has done a remarkable job consolidating his
country's democratic transition. There are sound strategic reasons to closely
engage Indonesia, and Jakarta's president is removing obstacles to a tighter
partnership.
There is still much the Obama administration must do. It
desperately needs to lead on trade arrangements in the region. Washington
cannot continue to let its military investments in air and maritime forces
needed for the Pacific recede (a practice begun under Presidents Bush and
Clinton). It needs to put far more energy and creativity into the India
relationship. It has to find a way to continue engaging Southeast Asia while
isolating Burma and halting its drive for weapons of mass destruction. And it
needs to find innovative ways to help Taiwan out of its international
isolation.
But the Clinton and Gates trip may represent a new Asia
policy tack -- one that promises to reverse the President's initial missteps and
strengthen our position in the region.
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