What's new

President Obama, in the midst of a five-day trip to Asia, is making stops in Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. But the strongest diplomatic signals are probably aimed farther north, at China, which has significant economic and strategic interests in the region.

Obama, who has billed himself as "America's first Pacific president" has already made several trips to Asia, but his administration's goal of making a "pivot" to the region — both militarily and diplomatically — has been hamstrung by the need to wind down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now, with Iraq off the table and Afghanistan soon to follow, the administration is able to double-down on its Asia policy. Experts say the time is right.

Counterbalancing China

There is no getting around the fact that China is the dominant power in Asia and that its economic, military and political power is rapidly growing. Its economic tentacles have turned much of the region into an outsourcing hub for its own shop floors, with Southeast Asia, for example, becoming a major source of computer chips and hard drives. At the same time, Beijing has stepped up its muscle-flexing over long-standing claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere — sending patrol vessels to the Senkaku Islands, claimed by both Japan and China, and the Scarborough Shoals, disputed territory with the Philippines.

"The U.S. sees this pivot toward Asia as a way to counterbalance China's growing influence in the region," says Suzanne DiMaggio, vice president of Global Policy Programs at the Asia Society. "I think the U.S. looks to Asia and sees China's fingerprints everywhere."

Enlarge Carolyn Kaster/AP

President Obama and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (second from right) arrived for an official dinner Sunday at Government House in Bangkok, Thailand.