The U.S. Rebalance to the Asia-Pacific: An Assessment

Abstract

President Obama’s decision to refocus U.S. resources in the Asia-Pacific reflects a change in U.S. foreign policy priorities. It has been five years since the Asia-Pacific rebalance was officially announced. It is therefore time to assess this rebalance.Employing a documentary research approach, this paper analyzes official U.S. documents and secondary sources to answer three concrete and interconnected questions: (i) How has the U.S. rebalance been implemented? (ii) What are the obstacles to the U.S. rebalance? and (iii) What should the U.S. do to truly succeed in carrying forward the rebalance? While the Obama administration has made some progress in expanding U.S. security, economic, diplomatic and cultural engagement in the Asia-Pacific, several obstacles remain. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations that would help the U.S. government to fully realize the Asia-Pacific rebalance.