Felix K. Chang
(FPRI) — Military bases are no rarity in the Asia-Pacific. That is hardly a surprise given the frequency and length of conflicts that were waged across the region for much of the twentieth century. But, in the decade-and-a-half after the Cold War, the Asia-Pacific experienced a remarkable period of interstate peace and stability. Military bases were consolidated, scaled down, or shuttered entirely. Most notably, the United States vacated what once were its two largest overseas bases in the Philippines and incrementally reduced its footprint in South Korea. While Washington claimed that it would make up for its smaller forward presence with new, long-range “global strike” assets, the closures appeared to signal an American pullback from the region.
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