-
With the Chinese navy, army and air force growing in strength, a "far more multi-polar unstable military environment" has resulted, says Robert Kaplan, senior advisor at the Eurasia Group.
-
"The U.S. has to make room for a rising China in Asia militarily, economically. The question is how much room. And that takes a very nuanced policy to say the least, to convert Asia from a uni-polar to a multi-polar security world," Kaplan says.
The United States needs to make room for China as a rising military power in the Asia-Pacific region, even if a declining U.S. presence there reduces stability, according to an expert.
Asia does not depend solely on the U.S. for security, but with the Chinese navy, army and air force growing in strength, a "far more multi-polar, unstable military environment" has resulted, said Robert Kaplan, senior advisor at consulting firm the Eurasia Group.
Speaking at the Singapore Summit on Saturday, he said: "America is the only country that's active in Asia that does not have territorial ambition inside Asia. And it's therefore kind of a balancing, even stabilizing power."
"So I think if America's role on these matters is diminished, with only the U.S. Navy there as a stabilizing force without the White House backing it up, stability in Asia has to be affected," added Kaplan, who's also a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
But, he said, the rise of China's military "cannot be denied."
"The U.S. has to make room for a rising China in Asia militarily, economically. The question is how much room. And that takes a very nuanced policy to say the least, to convert Asia from a uni-polar to a multi-polar security world," concluded Kaplan.
The United States withdrew from the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in 2017, but last month it announced $113 million in infrastructure spending for the Asia Pacific region — part of U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called Indo-Pacific strategy. It included new ventures focused on technology, energy and infrastructure.
China, on the other hand, has been exerting its presence in the South China Sea, and has extended its influence by means of its massive Belt and Road Initiative.
A desire to counter China's economic and political influence, which Beijing is expanding through its massive Belt and Road infrastructure program, is believed to be a major factor driving this Indo-Pacific policy. Many view the U.S. fund as an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative.