Views | A new Asian arithmetic

 Several developments over recent months indicate that China’s ascendancy in Asia may not go quite as unchallenged as previously believed

Yamini Lohia

There’s a wind blowing, and it may just be changing direction. Several developments over recent months indicate that China’s ascendancy in Asia may not go quite as unchallenged as previously believed. A combination of factors, from the United States’ renewed determination to be viewed as a Pacific power to an increasing reluctance on the part of other countries in the region, particularly in East Asia, to be dependent solely on Beijing’s goodwill, have resulted in a geopolitical re-alignment of a sort.

A file photo of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

America’s so-called pivot to the east was apparent in October, when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that “the world’s strategic and economic center of gravity is shifting east”. In the months that followed, US president Barack Obama visited Australia, signed a new trans-pacific trade agreement that excludes China and announced a new military base down under. The bulk of the US navy’s deployment has already been shifted towards the Pacific and Indian Oceans and future defense budget cuts are not expected to impact any Asian operations. This marks a recognition of Asia’s growing economic clout, especially at a time when Europe’s future looks dire. But it is also an indicator of a confluence of factors aimed at thwarting Beijing’s ambitions of expanding its sphere of influence in Asia-Pacific.    Full Story>>>