Contents    Prev    Next    Last

Chapter VIII.  Develop Agendas for Cooperative Action with the Other Main Centers of Global Power

 Section C.  The Way Ahead - 7. East Asia

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

             East Asia is a region of great opportunities and lingering tensions.  Over the past decade,

             it has been a source of extraordinary economic dynamism and also of economic

             turbulence.  Few regional economies have more effectively harnessed the engines of

             future prosperity:  technology and globalized trade.  Yet few regions have had greater

             difficulty overcoming the suspicions of the past.

             

             The United States is a Pacific nation, with extensive interests throughout East and

             Southeast Asia.  The region's stability and prosperity depend on our sustained

             engagement:  maintaining robust partnerships supported by a forward defense posture

             supporting economic integration through expanded trade and investment and promoting

             democracy and human rights.

             

             Forging new international initiatives and institutions can assist in the spread of freedom,

             prosperity, and regional security.  Existing institutions like the APEC forum and the

             Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, can play a vital role.  

             New arrangements, such as the U.S.-ASEAN Enhanced Partnership, or others that are

             focused on problem-solving and action, like the Six-Party Talks and the PSI, can likewise

             bring together Asian nations to address common challenges.  And Asian nations that

             share our values can join us in partnership to strengthen new democracies and promote

             democratic reforms throughout the region.  This institutional framework, however, must

             be built upon a foundation of sound bilateral relations with key states in the region.

             

             With Japan, the United States enjoys the closest relations in a generation.  As the world's

             two largest economies and aid donors, acting in concert multiplies each of our strengths

             and magnifies our combined contributions to global progress.  Our shared commitment to

             democracy at home offers a sure foundation for cooperation abroad.

             

             With Australia, our alliance is global in scope.  From Iraq and Afghanistan to our historic

             FTA, we are working jointly to ensure security, prosperity, and expanded liberty.

             

             With the ROK, we share a vision of a prosperous, democratic, and united Korean

             peninsula.  We also share a commitment to democracy at home and progress abroad and

             are translating that common vision into joint action to sustain our alliance into the

             21st century.  

 

        National Security Strategy

40

 

        With Southeast Asia, we celebrate the dynamism of increased economic freedom and

        look to further extend political freedom to all the people in the region, including those

        suffering under the repressive regime in Burma.  In promoting greater economic and

        political liberty, we will work closely with our allies and key friends, including

        Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.  

         

        China encapsulates Asia's dramatic economic successes, but China's transition remains

        incomplete.  In one generation, China has gone from poverty and isolation to growing

        integration into the international economic system.  China once opposed global

        institutions; today it is a permanent member of the UNSC and the WTO.  As China

        becomes a global player, it must act as a responsible stakeholder that fulfills its

        obligations and works with the United States and others to advance the international

        system that has enabled its success:  enforcing the international rules that have helped

        China lift itself out of a century of economic deprivation, embracing the economic and

        political standards that go along with that system of rules, and contributing to

        international stability and security by working with the United States and other major

        powers.  

         

        China's leaders proclaim that they have made a decision to walk the transformative path

        of peaceful development.  If China keeps this commitment, the United States will

        welcome the emergence of a China that is peaceful and prosperous and that cooperates

        with us to address common challenges and mutual interests.  China can make an

        important contribution to global prosperity and ensure its own prosperity for the longer

        term if it will rely more on domestic demand and less on global trade imbalances to drive

        its economic growth.  China shares our exposure to the challenges of globalization and

        other transnational concerns.  Mutual interests can guide our cooperation on issues such

        as terrorism, proliferation, and energy security.  We will work to increase our cooperation

        to combat disease pandemics and reverse environmental degradation.  

         

        The United States encourages China to continue down the road of reform and openness,

        because in this way China's leaders can meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of the

        Chinese people for liberty, stability, and prosperity.  As economic growth continues,

        China will face a growing demand from its own people to follow the path of East Asia's

        many modern democracies, adding political freedom to economic freedom.  Continuing

        along this path will contribute to regional and international security.  

        China's leaders must realize, however, that they cannot stay on this peaceful path while

        holding on to old ways of thinking and acting that exacerbate concerns throughout the

        region and the world.  These old ways include:

         

        ·  Continuing China's military expansion in a non-transparent way;

         

        ·  Expanding trade, but acting as if they can somehow "lock up" energy supplies around

             the world or seek to direct markets rather than opening them up ­ as if they can

             follow a mercantilism borrowed from a discredited era; and

         

 

                                                                                           National Security Strategy  41

 

             ·  Supporting resource-rich countries without regard to the misrule at home or

                   misbehavior abroad of those regimes.  

             

             China and Taiwan must also resolve their differences peacefully, without coercion and

             without unilateral action by either China or Taiwan.

             Ultimately, China's leaders must see that they cannot let their population increasingly

             experience the freedoms to buy, sell, and produce, while denying them the rights to

             assemble, speak, and worship.  Only by allowing the Chinese people to enjoy these basic

             freedoms and universal rights can China honor its own constitution and international

             commitments and reach its full potential.  Our strategy seeks to encourage China to make

             the right strategic choices for its people, while we hedge against other possibilities.

National Security Strategy 42