Morgan Ortagus
Asian Alliances and American Interests
America’s strong alliance with Japan and South Korea and its large military presence in the Asia-Pacific region have kept the peace and promoted stability in this region since the end of World War II. Out of the ashes of that terrible war, Japan has become one of America’s closest and most trusted allies.
America’s relationship with South Korea is just as strong and has ensured deterrence along the Korean DMZ for the past 70 years. America’s strong support of Taiwan, coupled with its policy of “strategic ambiguity,” has prevented war with Communist China and helped safeguard the island republic’s freedom and security.
In recent years, the term “Asia-Pacific” has been replaced by some national security experts with the term “Indo-Pacific.” This is because of the growing threat posed by China both to Asia-Pacific nations and to India. Growing Chinese aggression against Taiwan, in the South China Sea, and along the India-China border has led regional states to pursue joint strategies to defend against China, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad), discussed later in this chapter.
Maintaining and strengthening America’s alliance with its Asian allies is crucial in light of growing threats in the region, not just from China but also from North Korea and Russia. Too often, American presidents become so distracted by conflicts in other areas of the world, especially the Middle East, that they neglect the security concerns of their Asian allies. This was true of the Obama Administration, which claimed it would “pivot to Asia” to deal with growing threats from Beijing. Instead, Obama and his team became obsessed with striking the disastrous 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
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