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INSIGHT: Should Washington rearm Southeast Asia against China?
Now that the US has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Trump’s penchant for bilateralism is likely to marginalize ASEAN, rearming regional countries to deter or contain China could be the dominant engagement policy.
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A Vietnamese protester showing a map of the South China Sea marked with "No!" participates in a rally against China near the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, July 24. (AP/Ahn Young-joon)
There is no single problem with United States President Donald Trump’s two week-old presidency. There are plenty.
Not least of which has been how his advisors’ ideologically distorted worldviews drive United States foreign policy. Think of the recent chaotic immigration policies or the cavalier alliance management moves.
The melee notwithstanding, both the Republican-controlled House and Senate as well as the White House seem to agree that former president Barack Obama’s “rebalance” to Asia has emboldened China and damaged American interests. In response, they believe, the US should beef up its military presence and re-arm its partners and allies to push back against China.
Most recently, Senator John McCain, head of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, proposed US$7.5 billion of new funding for US forces and their Asian counterparts. The funds would go to new military construction, such as runways in Australia and the Philippines, munitions procurement and capacity building of and exercises with allies and partners. Reuters quoted a Trump official arguing that the proposal was “very much in general alignment with the administration’s goals in the region.”
This proposal might be an expanded version of Obama’s Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative launched by then defense secretary Carter in 2015 (although it was suggested by McCain). This initiative committed roughly $425 million over five years to strengthen the maritime capabilities of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Now that the US has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Trump’s penchant for bilateralism is likely to marginalize ASEAN, rearming regional countries to deter or contain China could be the dominant engagement policy.
For Southeast Asia, however, a rearmament strategy is flawed for two reasons.
