ISAS Working Papers

United States President Barack Obama’s visit to Asia took him to four countries – Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. The trip will have a lasting impact for at least two reasons. The American president gave up on the position taken by George W. Bush, his predecessor in the White House, that America would rule the international waves alone and would not share that space with any other nation. Instead, the new president went out of his way to invite Asia to join his nation to shape a new world order. He defined the twenty-first century as the Pacific century. Second, he singled out China as the United States’ partner in this enterprise. Implementing this design will not be easy. Already, the conservatives in his country have signalled their unhappiness with this change in America’s strategic thinking. And India, the other major Asian power, did not welcome President Obama’s call to China to help bring peace and prosperity to South Asia, a region New Delhi regards as its sphere of influence.