Obama's rebalancing may backfire

Balance has become a key word in Asia. Before US President Barack Obama visited Asia, he said to the Japanese media that the goal of his Asia trip is to assure the US' Asian allies that the United States won't change its rebalancing strategy in Asia due to other international issues. However, what Obama brought to Asia was anything but balance.

The US government pursues a "hub and stroke" mode in Asia, and Obama visited three Asian allies of the US-Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines-and Malaysia.

Although China was not included as a destination, it was the raison d'??tre of the trip.

In Japan, Obama, for the first time, publicly supported Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifting Japan's self-imposed ban on exercising the right of collective self-defence, and unprecedentedly claimed that the disputed Diaoyu Islands are covered by the US-Japan security treaty. In the ROK, Obama urged the ROK and Japan to improve their relationship to enhance the effectiveness of the US' alliances with the two countries. In the Philippines, Obama reaffirmed the US' commitment to protecting the Philippines and signed a 10-year Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement to expand the US forces' presence in the Philippines and help the country improve its military capabilities.

Although Obama claimed the US was not trying to contain China, what he has done shows clearly it is.

Relations between China and the US have been unsettled since the beginning of 2014. Besides Obama, many senior US officials, including Senior Director of Asian Affairs for the US National Security Council Evan Medeiros, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert, Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel, have all taken a tough stance toward China recently. Given such sustained and ever-escalating pressure on China in such a short period of time, it is hard to believe the US is trying to establish a non-antagonistic relationship with China.

The US' intention of returning to the Asian-Pacific region is to achieve a balance in favor of the US, and that was the main goal of Obama's Asia trip this time. But this is an unbalanced approach because it is in favor of the countries that have disputes with China, so China is forced to seek a counterbalance. Obama's unprecedented promise to support Japan in the territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea is enough to show the US' concern over China's new legally established Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea. Also facing frustrations in Syria and Crimea, the US is becoming unreasonably tough with China in a bid to maintain its image as the undisputed global leader.

Objectively speaking, the US' rebalancing strategy in the Asia-Pacific region is aimed at achieving a strategic balance between China and Japan that will prevent war between them but also prevent their reconciliation. It will also make both countries woo the US, which will help reinforce the US' dominant position as an "offshore balancer".

During his Asia trip, Obama not only continuously pressured China, he also put pressure on the Abe administration by telling the media that the US won't contain China and raising the "comfort women" issue in the ROK.

So Obama's statement that the disputed territory between China and Japan falls under the US-Japan security treaty is confusing, and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel didn't interpret it at the press conference. It is also dangerous as it may prompt Japan to make a reckless move in the future.

The US should be more patient in Asia. It should watch and learn the true meaning of balance.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of American Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily 05/08/2014 page8)