President Obama, who spent some of his youth in Indonesia and grew up in Hawaii, acknowledges that the pan Pacific has influenced how he views the world. After defining the United States as a Pacific nation, he set out on his official tour to Asia while considering the “Return to Asia” of the United States. It is no wonder that during the address at Santori Hall in Japan he declared himself as the first Pacific president of America. Furthermore, he did not forget to add that the United States, as a Pacific nation, would significantly strengthen its effort of engagement the in Asia-Pacific region.
Unfortunately, however, his visit to Northeast Asia turned out to be more demanding than he had expected. The first leader he had to meet in his first destination, Japan, was the newly-elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama; the Japanese Premier was determined to rearrange the U.S.-Japanese alliance so that the two countries would be on the equal footing. Traditionally, the bilateral relationship has been more like that of a guru and a follower — the guru being the United States and the follower being Japan. Premier Hatoyama is different. He wants to change the traditional relations and he means it. He showed his determination by leaving behind President Obama in Japan after a summit conference and choosing to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit talks in Singapore. When faced with the question whether to meet an American president or to attend another international meeting, it had been a no-brainer for previous Japanese prime ministers.
In China, the situation was not different. Although President Obama openly asked China to lead the world together by saying that China was another partner for the Group of Two (G-2), Chinese President Hu Jintao declined the honor. Perhaps President Hu was so well aware of the reality of international politics that if China accepted the position, China needed to cooperate closely with the United States on the issues such as Iran’s nuclear bombs, emission of carbon dioxide, climate change and non-proliferation. All of these issues are still explosive and implosive in China. President Obama, however, is in no position to say this or that to China, because China is the biggest stockholder in the American economy. China is known to hold American bonds worth $800 billion.
President Obama visited the “New Asia,” and he might have been surprised or disappointed by what he had to experience there. The Northeast Asia that Obama visited was not the same as the one Presidents Clinton and Bush had visited. According to a report called “The United States in the New Asia” by the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States needs to actively participate in Asia’s regional activities and conferences. Here comes the importance of South Korea. Unlike Japan and China, South Korea cordially welcomed President Obama. The two leaders reassured each other that the Korea-U.S. alliance was still strong and solid. As the 15th biggest economy in the world now, South Korea is willing to enlarge trade with the United States through Free Trade Agreements that will lower trade barriers between South Korea and the United States and thus benefit the two economies. As a nation with the sixth strongest military force (according to the 2007 CIA report and 2005 International Institute for Strategic Studies report), South Korea has been effectively contributing to the maintenance of stability and promotion of prosperity in Northeast Asia and around the globe, especially with regard to North Korea. During Obama’s visit, he and President Lee Myoung-bak were eager to find a working solution pertaining to North Korea’s nuclear issues. Although some details still need to be further clarified, it is a good sign that the two leaders jointly support the Grand Bargain plan, which would offer economic assistance and guarantee safety for North Korea in exchange for dismantling their nuclear program. This summit made it clear that South Korea and the United States share common interests in many areas.
In the era of the 21st century, cooperation among countries is becoming increasingly important. Issues such as worldwide economic crisis, nuclear non-proliferation and climate change make it impossible for one country to solve these problems. Thinking from the perspective shared during the 1970s, when the Cold War was still freezing the world, cooperation between the United States and China to the degree that is happening in today’s world would seem impossible. On the contrary, the tie between Japan and the United States that was once seen as iron-clad is crumbling these days. In this time of uncertainty, President Obama had a chance to see what the previous U.S. presidents could not see. South Korea, remains a good friend to the United States. Of course, although the projection of South Korea’s GDP per capita in 2050 by Goldman Sachs report (issued on December, 2005) as the second highest in the world has yet to be proven, it seems that the friendship between South Korea and the United States has nothing more to prove.