The Biden administration has returned a sense of normalcy to Asia policy. Unfortunately, that includes continuing a military-first approach to Asia.
Four years of the Trump administration left Asia’s governing elites with a hangover. Many hoped that President Joe Biden would be the cure. On the eve of Biden taking office, pundits widely expected he would restore competence, rhetorical restraint, and a sense of normalcy in Asia policy. Twelve months later, the Biden administration has done precisely that, replacing Trump’s grievance politics and erraticism with a steady decency and respect toward allies and partners.
The problem, however, is that Biden and his staff have also lived up to other expectations: That the United States would promote Asia’s militarization with the vague aim of “countering” China, give the Pentagon a blank check on defense posture and military spending, show ambivalence about international trade, exhibit contradictions in democracy promotion, fail to do anything about a nuclear North Korea, and pursue an internally conflicted China policy that defaulted to competition.
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Van Jackson
Van Jackson, Ph.D., is a specialist in Asian foreign policy and U.S. national security who formerly served in the Pentagon under the Obama administration. He is the author of the forthcoming book “Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace” as well as two earlier books on North Korea.
