Washington Report, 2006-09

Abstract

The era of absolute American preeminence in East Asia is over, asserts Amb. Morton Abramowitz, who with Amb. Stephen Bosworth wrote Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy (The Century Foundation: 2006). The region has been dramatically transformed by the combined influences of a rising China, a globalizing world economy, deeper U.S. economic involvement there, and other forces. The authors say it is now incumbent upon the United States to consider anew how it can help keep the peace and retain influence commensurate with its interests in the region. In his interview, Amb. Abramowitz further elaborates on this theme in discussing the challenges to U.S. policy posed by growing interest in East Asian regionalism, the North Korean nuclear problem, Sino-Japanese tensions, and the role and importance of regional institutions.Washington Report is a bimonthly newsletter that provides an "inside-the-Beltway" perspective on developments in U.S.-Asia Pacific relations. The centerpiece of the report is an interview with a leading authority on an economic, political, and/or strategic issues of importance to transpacific relations.