Secretary Clinton is in Asia attending a summit and reassuring allies on the issue of disputed territory that has galvanized the region.
The premiers of China and Japan met at an Asian regional summit in a bid to defuse a territorial dispute on Saturday, while the United States urged Asia’s two big economies to cool the standoff and proposed three-way talks [...] “We have certainly encouraged both Japan and China to seek peaceful resolution of any disagreements,” Clinton told a news conference. “It is in all of our interest for China and Japan to have stable, peaceful relations.” China and Japan have long-locked horns over sovereignty claims in the oil-and-gas rich East China Sea but such disputes have rarely damaged commercial ties between the economic giants.
It was only a short time ago that allies in the region worried that the U.S. focus on Iraq and Afghanistan would diminish the U.S commitment to security in Asia. It was at that time that a new government came to power in Japan with an agenda to assert a more independent foreign policy, one that called into question the status of forces agreement between the two allies. In “US-Japan alliance the big winner from the Senkaku Islands dispute,” published by the East Asia Forum, Professor Aurelia George Mulgan describes how these territorial disputes with China have transformed U.S. relations with Japan, taking a relationship that had been strained and renewing the security bonds that underlie their common interests.
With her repeat visits to Asia, Secretary Clinton seems to be skillfully countering the growing regional anxiety over China to renew and strengthen American relationships in the region. This coming week President Obama will visit India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, bringing a message of American support and encouragement. With all the recent diplomatic meetings, trade deals, and arms sales we are witnessing in the region, the Pacific Century is off to a dramatic start.
Image Credit: Straits Times
