America takes the APEC test

In 2010, Hillary Clinton, then US secretary of state, used the occasion of the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Hanoi to announce that Washington had junked its longstanding policy toward the dispute in the South China Sea and was ready to mediate to resolve it.

Many had expected Obama to drop a "bombshell" during the APEC summit. The worries seem not necessary now.

In fact, even if President Obama participate in the APEC summit, he would have sought to advance progress on the US-led trade initiative known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership economic pact. That was not a secret or surprise. Rather, the media had been carrying stories about the US' aim to hold a meeting of TPP leaders on the sidelines of the APEC forum for months. The only real surprise was expected to be some sort of breakthrough in negotiations. Given the domestic situation in Japan and some other countries, however, that was unlikely.

Even if he would visit the Philippines, it would be unlikely that President Obama and Filipino President Benigno Aquino would announce any new basing agreement to return US military forces to Subic Bay in the Philippines.

For a start, such a move would require a change in the Philippines Constitution. From the US perspective, military bases are expensive (and often unnecessary). Most importantly, it is likely that the White House and the Pentagon consider the idea unsound. After all, rather than promoting regional peace and stability, such a move could undermine it. Much more likely is a symbolic announcement that the two sides would remain allies and plan to continue to engage in occasional joint military exercises.

An agreement allowing US troops, aircraft and ships to temporarily pass through the Philippines is certainly possible. Besides, the sale of a small number of obsolete US ships cannot be ruled out.

In short, Obama didn't have any intention to use the APEC forum in Bali as a platform to announce any drastic changes or new initiatives in US foreign policy. And the cancellation of his Asia trip proved that US domestic issues always are the most important for any US president.

Like other leaders and delegations, the US president directed his energies toward the task at hand, that is, the attainment of a comprehensive response to the world's continuing economic and financial challenges. This might not be headline news or might not have made a splash in the so-called blogosphere, nevertheless it is an important undertaking.

The author is director of the Graduate Program in Global Studies in the Department of Political Science at Missouri State University.

(China Daily 10/08/2013 page9)