US: Diplomatic, Military Rebalance to Asia No Threat to China

April 26, 2013

U.S. officials say shifting more diplomatic, commercial, and military assets to the Asia-Pacific region is not a threat to China. Stepped-up Chinese naval exercises are partly a response to the Obama administration's diplomatic and military rebalance to Asia. But U.S. officials say it's not about confrontation, it's about stability.

"In this respect, the success of the rebalance hinges on having a positive and productive relationship with China. So absolutely the rebalance is not about China. What China does, though, of necessity does impact how we think about the region," said David Helvey, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia.

With growing threats from North Korea, the United States must continue to reassure its allies, says George Mason University professor Janine Davidson. "As tensions rise on the Korean peninsula or in the South China Sea, the reaffirmation of this security guarantee can prevent a destabilizing arms race among nervous countries in the region," he stated.

Critics say the Obama administration is mishandling threats. Republican Senator Marco Rubio. "Our allies in the region want to make sure that not only are we saying these things," he explained. "But we are actually in a position to do something about these security commitments.

With rival claims over lucrative oil and fishing rights in the South China Sea, it's a question of managing resources, said Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asia Joseph Yun. "There are no resolutions. Nobody's ever going to give up their claims. So really the question is: how do you manage it? One of the models of managing is through joint use, joint exploration, joint agreement," he stated.