US looks to Asia after Iraq withdrawal

• Source: Global Times
• [21:51 September 02 2010]
• Comments

Illustration: Liu Rui

By Yan Liang

On August 31, US President Barack Obama formally ended the US combat mission in Iraq, declaring, "It's time to turn the page."

Even though Obama claimed the most urgent priority is to fix the sickly economy of the US, it is widely believed that a withdrawal from Iraq could give the Obama administration a stronger hand to deal with Asian issues.

China, perceived by US as a major force undermining America's long-held hegemony in Asia, needs to be vigilant as a result.

Since Obama's election, a much more Asia-centered US foreign policy has been taking shape, which necessitated an end to combat missions in Iraq, as promised during the presidential campaign.

While the withdrawal from Iraq may be temporarily and fragile as some have predicted, it seems to show that the Obama administration's foreign policy is concentrating more on Asia.

As Obama said, the winding down in Iraq would allow the US to "apply the resources necessary to go on the offensive" in Afghanistan.

But some experts believe that, an increased military presence in Afghanistan is bound to threaten the stability of China's northwestern region, since some "sleeper" members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement or other terrorist organizations may infiltrate into China or other regions.

Analysts believe that, as a rising power in Asia, China's development environment will be squeezed by the increasing role played by the US government in Asia.

The US foreign policy toward China has demonstrated some new characteristics recently, especially a South China Sea issue, and its cooperating with China's Asian neighbors to stage military drills.

At the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Minister's Meeting in Hanoi held in July, some remarks con-cerning South China Sea made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave China more reasons to be alert.

Clinton talked about US "national interests" in the South China Sea. In response, China made its stance clear: The US is trying to stir up other countries around the South China Sea to go against China, and is seeking its own interests by destabilizing China's neighbors.