Nov 19, 2009
By Brian McCartan
Asia Times Oline
BANGKOK - As United States President Barack Obama's Asia tour wraps up this week, his takeaway message was clear: the US is back in the region. In Southeast Asia, that message is translating into renewed engagement which, while not aimed exclusively at containing China's growing influence, is certainly targeted at fostering greater competition for the loyalty of individual countries.Obama's trip over the weekend made him the first American president to share a room with all 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Much has been made of Obama's childhood time in Indonesia and the perceived Asian orientation of his presidency. He declared himself as the US's first "Pacific president" during his tour. The US's new Asian focus, however, is also based on views in Washington policy circles that the region has been neglected, much to the US's detriment in maintaining its pre-eminent position in the region vis-a-vis China.
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