U.S. Foreign Policy with East Asia
Foreign Policy: Asia Specific. U.S. foreign policy towards activities in the Asia specific region has vital national security, diplomatic, and economic implications for the U.S.
Introduction and Context:
Foreign policies are the objectives that guide relationships and activities of one state with relation to other states. The case study I am focusing on targets the threats to the United States from the Asian-Pacific region, specifically focusing on China and North Korea. China and North Korea have the potential to challenge the United States militarily, with the construction of weapons of mass destruction and military expansion. Additionally, China is also challenging the United States with regard to economics and technology as well, which is a rather new thing. This is an important topic of discussion because the way of life in people in this region could be significantly changed by having 2 new major superpowers come into play. People even now are worried about what will happen with China and North Korea and if there will be some war, either locally or abroad.
The United States has had strong key alliances with many Asian nations, including Japan, China, Korea, and India. With regards to China, the United States used to not be aligned with them, but then they both eventually adopted policies of mutually accepting one another. The goals of U.S. policy in Asia are national security and diplomacy, economic and trade interests, and universal human rights. These are all issues that make it reasonable to understand why the United States sought policies of friendliness with Asian countries.
However, with regard to North Korea and China, there are other issues at play. North Korea brings the issues of nuclear threat, having harbored nuclear weapons for some time now, along with cyberwarfare. China is the major player that the United States trades with, holding much power there. Along with that, China’s military buildup is starting to pose a threat to the United States, causing the U.S. to approach with caution. The United States is also threatened through their cybersecurity when it comes to China. The recommendation is that the United States becomes more involved in the Asian sphere so that it is seen as an ally to these nations, rather than a potential enemy.
Links: https://www.thepolicycircle.org/brief/u-s-foreign-policy-asia-pacific-region/
The Goals:
The purpose of looking at U.S. foreign policy with regard to Asian countries, such as China and North Korea, is to ensure peace and civility between countries so that a global affair does not come about that could harm many innocent lives. Additionally, peace is something that everybody wants and wants to pursue, so it is important to achieve that end goal.
The Methods:
The United States has become more open to developing alliances with many countries, including China. By “aligning” with China, there is a sense of mutual respect and acknowledgement of each other, which puts us one step closer to peace. The U.S. has become aligned through economic and trade interests. With regard to North Korea and China overall, the United States has tried to become more involved in Asia as an ally rather than an enemy so that they are less susceptible to attacks from these countries.
The Findings:
These policies have worked up to this point. There is less tension now than there may have been if the United States had not tried to make itself a kind of an ally towards these countries.
Challenges and Solutions:
When looking at policies in this region, there are many different factors and players that can affect the United States’ trying to seek peace. Countries may not want to align with the United States because of the fact that they see the U.S. as a primary threat that they need to compete against rather than work together with. The solution is to try and have diplomatic relations no matter what happens. The United States has tried to pursue these peaceful relations even despite the resistance that they may face. In seeking peace, the United States has accomplished in a sense what it has been trying to by having somewhat friendly relations with at least China.
Lessons: The lessons that can be learned are that foreign policy is ever changing and always needs to be treated with care. A few decades ago, the United States would not have considered China an ally in any sense of the word. However, as time has gone on, they realized that it is important to have some kind of relationship, even if it just has to do with trade. Going forward, the United States can use this idea of some kind of relationship to build off of and hopefully try and pursue a more friendly relationship as time goes on.