Pivot to Asia: What, Why and Whither? The Not So New Obama's Asia Policy

Pivot or Rebalance to Asia-Pacific is a foreign policy launched by the Obama administration at the end of 2011. The essence of the Pivot is that the U.S. recognizes Asia-Pacific as the most dynamic and fastest growing region in the world that will decide the future of global politics and that the U.S. - as a Pacific power - is going to be right at the center of the action. The policy is best described as a set of initiatives ranging from strengthening the U.S. bilateral ties in the area and rebalancing some of the U.S. military assets form other theatres Asia- Pacific to engaging the regional multilateral organizations and negotiating new trade deals - especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership - to foster the regional prosperity. The Pivot to Asia policy, is however, quite controversial as while it is welcome by some Asian countries, it is criticized by China that sees it as an attempt to contain its rise. The policy has now been in place for almost three years. It has evolved since its launch to be less conflictual towards China, however amid the continuing Chinese disputes with its neighbors over the maritime claims at China`s maritime periphery, some observers still question the efficiency of the policy. Moreover, with the continued defense budget cuts, many question that the U.S. is going to be..