The Security Role of the US in the Asia-Pacific

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This chapter argues that the US has remained committed to building and maintaining security in East Asia through several types of engagements, such as stationing military bases in Japan or South Korea, providing military equipment to Taiwan or displaying diplomacy and coercive instruments in its dealings with North Korea or Burma. As Asia-Pacific marches into the 21st century as a major global economic power, a concurrent regional security transformation is taking place in which the US has played a pivotal role. Against this backdrop, the US security role in the region is guided by four main rationales of policy-making. The first is the traditional security dilemma in which uncertainty and distrust are the basis of the policy-making process, despite increasing economic interdependence (China). The second is consolidating a hierarchical security order that has been developed over decades, as a result of bilateral longstanding cooperation, where the US is the main security provider (Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand). The third is developing ties with countries in Asia that provide a significant contribution to the US fight against threats such as terrorism. The fourth is to be an active participant in regionalisation of security mechanisms (ASEAN-ARF). The final part of the chapter looks at the areas where Europe shares interests in the security US agenda in the Asia-Pacific.