Recommendations made by the Asia-Pacific Rebalance 2025 report have outlined a clear goal--the containment of China's growing clout in order to maintain the United States' dominant role in the Asia-Pacific region. The report, unveiled by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on January 20, has reviewed the U.S. Government's Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy.

The report was authorized by the U.S. Congress last year, which assigned the U.S. Department of Defense to commission an independent assessment of the U.S. military strategy and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region for the next decade.

In the report, the CSIS study team highlighted priorities in four areas: aligning the U.S. strategy in Asia with its allies and partners in the region; accelerating efforts to strengthen capabilities, capacities, resilience, and interoperability of its allies and partners; sustaining and expanding U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region; and accelerating the development of innovative capabilities and concepts for U.S. forces.

As a decade-long strategy assessment, the report shows that Washington has been preparing to extend its Asia-Pacific rebalance policy--one of the most important legacies left by U.S. President Barack Obama--to the next president who will take office in 2017.

Daniel Russel, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that the U.S. Government would not stop the Asia-Pacific rebalance in an interview on January 22. Russel, who was attending the fourth U.S.-Singapore Strategic Partner Dialogue in Singapore, stressed that it is a long-term strategy for the United States, even while the country prepares for a presidential transition.

Pivoting steps

Since the rebalance policy was launched in 2011, the Obama administration has enhanced its actions in the Asia-Pacific region considerably.

Obama announced a new military strategy in January 2012, vowing to deploy 60 percent of U.S. naval ships and 60 percent of its overseas air force to the Asia-Pacific region before 2020. The U.S. Government has made efforts to fulfill that objective in the past years.

In 2015, the U.S. Government released the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy, which clarified that the country's major security interests in the region lie in three fields-safeguarding the freedom of the seas, deterring conflict and coercion as well as promoting adherence to international law and standards.

The Obama administration has made substantial progress in implementing the Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy in the last five years. Despite the cuts to the United States' defense budget, Obama's resolution has not been affected.

In 2014, the Pentagon announced that the total strength of the U.S. Army would be cut down to 440,000 troops from 520,000. Nonetheless, it has been taking steps to

increase the troops of Army and Marine Corps stationed in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2014, U.S. Marine Corps deployed 19,000 troops in the area, and by 2017, that figure will grow to 22,000--the highest level since 2003.

According to a five-year combat plan released by the U.S. Navy in 2014, the number of U.S. naval ships deployed in the Pacific will increase from 50 to 65 by 2020. This means that some of the world's most advanced warships and combat aircraft will be amassed in that zone.

The U.S. Government has also enhanced its military cooperation with allied countries and partners in the region. For example, Australia has allowed U.S. Marine Corps to use Darwin as a harbor in north Australia since 2011. In 2014, the two governments further expand this cooperation to double the number of stationed U.S. troops to 2,500 in Darwin by 2017.

In addition, Japan has also adjusted its defense policies. Last year, Japan adopted new security bills to break its exclusively defense-oriented strategy, which it had kept since the end of World War II. Recently, the Japanese Self-Defense Force has undertaken more and more reconnaissance and surveillance tasks in coordination with the U.S. forces in the South China Sea.

Also, according to an agreement on military cooperation between the United States and Singapore reached in 2012, the U.S. Navy was allowed to deploy up to four advanced littoral combat ships in Singapore. At present, two of them have been stationed there. At the end of 2015, the two sides also agreed to deploy a number of U.S. Navy's P-8 Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft in Singapore.

In 2014, the Philippines agreed to open up to five military bases to U.S. aircraft, warships and troops. More than 20 years after they were pushed out, U.S. forces have returned to the Southeast Asian country. And In November 2015, the U.S. Government announced to offer $259 million to help its allies and partner countries strengthen maritime security.

Aimed at China?

Undoubtedly, the Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy is aimed at dealing with China's rise.

The CSIS report, however, outlines that the containment strategy, which was employed during the Cold War against the former Soviet Union, would not be "feasible or appropriate vis-à-vis China today." It suggests that the U.S. Government should combine a variety of measures including engagement, deterrence and reassurance in its relations with China.

In practice, the United States is actively extending dialogue and cooperation with China. At the same time, it is also concentrating its efforts on strengthening its alliance with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia, to provide a counter-balance against China's growing power, according to statements made by Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State and the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, in her book Hard Choices.

The Asia-Pacific Rebalance 2025 makes an analysis of the so-called major security risks to the United States in the region. China ranks number one, followed by North Korea, Russia and nonstate actors.

The CSIS report also expresses a concern over growing tensions between China and the United States, stressing that constructive U.S.-China relations are of great importance in order to maintain security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. It suggests leaders of the two countries should deepen their dialogue, in particular over the issue of Asia-Pacific security. They are also called to thoroughly implement existing agreements and take additional efforts to forge crisis-management mechanisms. The United States should also encourage its allies--Japan and the Philippines included--to build trust with China through bilateral channels, according to the report.

Key factors

However, the implementation of the ambitious Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy has been influenced by a complex variety of factors due to the current global situation. Since the United States plays a global role--but is unable to focus its attention and resources solely on the Asia-Pacific--it is unlikely to accomplish all of its goals in the region.

For example, the imbroglio with Russia and the Ukraine crisis has dragged the United States into a geopolitical struggle. The Obama administration has imposed sanctions on Russia in an effort to curb Moscow's attempts to strengthen its sphere of influence. Nonetheless, a strategic stalemate between the two countries perseveres to this day.

Moreover, Western interests are facing unprecedented challenges in the Middle East, including the rise of the so-called "Islamic State" group, and the ongoing conflict in Syria. That is in addition to sectarian tensions as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Because of these issues, the United States is unlikely to withdraw from the Middle East completely.

What's more, defending its homeland against terror attacks has been a top priority for the U.S. Government since the September 11, 2001 attacks by Al-Qaeda. Furthermore, the seeping spread of terrorism in Europe has resulted in a number of disastrous attacks. Against that backdrop, the United States needs to maintain and concentrate its efforts on the fight against terrorism.

As for other world affairs, climate change is an increasingly important issue for the leadership of the United States as well as China, which has become an indispensable partner for the United States in that regard. Washington is fully aware that the two countries must collaborate on this issue.

Few people challenge the assertion that China will become the center of the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. Regardless of who will be elected as the next U.S. president, the United States will be sure to pour more of its strength into the region. Yet, despite its pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, the United States is unwilling to weaken its presence and influence in Europe and the Middle East. The takeaway is that the United States is unlikely to concentrate all its strength on countering China.

The author is an op-ed contributor to Beijing Review  and a researcher at the Pangoal Institution 

Copyedited by Bryan Michael Galvan

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