Document Type : Original Independent Original Article
Highlights
Introduction
Examining the conditions of the Asia-Pacific reveals that the increasing role of this region in global developments has been accentuated in recent years; as now more than 50% of the world's gross domestic product belongs to the countries of the Asia-Pacific. Therefore, the growing role of the region in the international system is evident; some experts even opine that the future of the world will be determined in this region.
The United States of America, which has a rich history of presence in in the Asia-Pacific, has tried to maintain its position in region and also curtail the rise of China, as its main competitor. In the meantime, each of the different administrations of the United States has had their own approach towards this region.
The Obama administration can be somehow explained as the flag-carrier of devoting more attention to the Asia-pacific region by introducing “Pivot to Asia” strategy. Even in the administration of Trump, with its eccentric characteristics highlighted in the slogan of “America First”, Asia-Pacific received a lot of attention, though maybe in a different form, and Washington sought to have primacy in the region through initiatives such as FOIP. After Biden took office, the coalition building project was revived; a strategy whose main manifestation can be seen in raising attention to the Quad, concluding the AUKUS Treaty and organizing the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework".
Methodology
The current research, using the descriptive-analytical method, sought to answer the question: “What are the points of commonality and difference in the positions of different American administrations towards the Asia-Pacific region between 2009 and 2022?”
Finding
The hypothesis of the research was that the "pivot to Asia" is the foreign policy of all three administrations; however, in the Obama and Biden administrations, capacity of allies and coalition building was prioritized, while Trump followed a one-way policy in the region with his own peculiar foreign policy. The findings of the research, confirming the hypothesis; indicating that in the foreign policy of the three administrations of Obama, Trump and Biden, there has been more continuity than differences. In addition, all three administrations have been aware of the importance and rise of this region. However, what separates the strategy of the Trump administration from the strategy of the Obama and Biden ones towards the Asia-Pacific region is the emphasis on cooperation with allies and partners, something that became less prominent during the Trump era, unlike the previous and subsequent periods; as the Biden administration can be seen as Obama's third administration in the Asia-Pacific area.
Therefore, the Obama era is very important in the analysis of the US stance towards the Asia-Pacific region, as his administration was the inventor of the "Pivot to Asia" strategy; in fact, after a decade in which the US foreign policy focused on the Middle East due to the so-called anti-terrorism wars, the Obama administration, having noticed the rise of the Asia-Pacific region and especially China, tried to focus its policy on Asia. To achieve this goal, Obama emphasized multilateralism and using the capacity of allied countries. In addition, the strengthening of the relations of the United States with South Korea, Japan, Australia and ASEAN members emerged through his administration.
In the analysis of Trump's foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region, some experts believe that the US Administration’s strategy in that time suffered from some kind of an internal contradiction; as the simultaneous emphasis on "America first" and "great power competition" made the United States unable to use the capacity of its allies to confront China. In addition, the rhetoric of the Trump administration, which did not differentiate between allies and competitors and emphasized only the interests of the United States, caused a lot of discouragement to USA allies. The next thing that made the contradiction of American policy in Trump era more clear was the emphasis on the domestic aspect of "freedom" while supporting authoritarian leaders such as Rodrigo Duterte, the then president of the Philippines.
In the time that has passed since the beginning of Biden's presidency, the continuation of Trump's path has been observed; actions such as the AUKUS treaty are exactly what Trump had in mind to contain China, and precisely because of this, Biden has been praised by hardline Republicans like John Bolton. However, what makes Biden's approach different from Trump's regarding the Asia-Pacific region is his effort for multilateralism and cooperation with partners and allies; reflected in the strengthening of “Quad” and the improving relations with countries such as South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. Perhaps due to the adoption of this approach, the Biden administration can be called Obama's third administration, at least with regard to the policies applied in the Asia-Pacific region.
Conclusion
The examination of the foreign policy of the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations towards the Asia-Pacific region indicates three important issues: First, there is more consistency than difference in the policies of the aforementioned administrations. Secondly, the rise of the Asia-Pacific region is very important and impressive in world politics; therefore, no activist in the international arena can be indifferent to it. Last but not least, the internal orientations of the administrations and the goals they seek to achieve cause each of them to have their own strategies.; a proposition in accordance with the assumptions of the theoretical framework of the research in the form of neoclassical realism.
Subjects
