...and the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is openly developing a strategy to counter US naval hegemony and the means to carry it out. One of the largest threats facing the US Navy in the Western Pacific is that of sea mines. Although mines have long posed a threat to the operations of US naval forces, the potential threat from all types of sea mines is still growing rapidly. Currently, more than fifty nations across...
In spite of the rough economic times, it seems nothing can stop the expansion of American free trade agreements (FTAs) across the globe. The Obama administration has promised that the recent passage of FTAs with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea will help boost American exports, substantially increase our GDP, and potentially support thousands of jobs. And the buck doesn’t stop there. At the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summi...
After centuries of humiliation, domination, and colonization by the West, nearly three billion residents in the Pacific region are rising to claim what is rightfully theirs: economic prosperity, diplomatic influence, and national pride. Yet this newfound power breeds new challenges for the United States policy in Asia. The greatest headaches for US policymakers arise, of course, from the People’s Republic of China’ new aim to radically alter th...
...shall Islands. Measured by their power, these nuclear tests amounted to 1.6 Hiroshimas per day over that period – a fact little known to the world community. The Marshall Islands is part of the Micronesian island chain in the Pacific Ocean extending from Hawaii to the Philippines, and consists of 34 volcanic islands that are home to a population of around 70,000 people. The country, strategically located just south of Japan, played an important r...
...y of the Manchu”) was established a short time later. Needless to say, the Japanese lust for land was not quenched by gaining Manchuria. A full scale invasion of China was only six years behind, and full scale war against the Pacific’s other great power, the United States of America, began a decade after Mukden. For many historians of Japan, 1931 also marks the beginning of the dark period of militarism which ended only with the cataclysmic horro...
...that American strategists have been grappling with for well over a century: geography. The United States is entirely free from the threat of invasion, as it dominates the North American continent , as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But security and relative isolation (and the freedom they ensure) come at a high price: It is difficult for the United States to deploy and sustain large ground forces on the Eurasian landmass. The United Sta...
In recent months, there has been much talk of the United States’ “strategic pivot” toward East Asia and the Pacific. With the expansion of our military presence in the region and the withdrawal of troops from our now unnecessary bases in Europe, the United States is positioning itself to be ready for the problems of the 21st century: i.e. possible Chinese encroachment in Southeast Asia or a potential conflict between China and India. Most analys...
...oply of bureaucrats and government agencies that also effect the ups and downs of the economy. Nor can he change the economic policies of our friends across the Atlantic or our largest trading partner on the other side of the Pacific. There just might be a magic button for foreign policy, though. What the electorate is decidedly ignoring is the Commander-in-Chief’s unrivaled ability to change the world — this election might just effec...
...owever, the emissions argument does not hold water because the oil is going to be drilled whether or not the Keystone pipeline is built; in fact, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to build a similar pipeline to the Pacific in order to sell the crude to China if Obama does not allow the construction of Keystone. As for the spill concerns, it is important to realize that the United States is already crisscrossed with numerous oil pipeli...
From Wikimedia Commons Since well before his first term, President Obama has had tremendous support from citizens around the world. In 2008 Europeans cheered his youth and charisma, Kenyans celebrated his ethnic heritage, and many in the Middle East saw him as the candidate capable of bringing relief from the near decade of hawkish American foreign policy that marked the opening of the 21st century. Just months into his first term, the five mem...
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