Iain Henry responds to Sam Roggeveen's post:
Biden may be insisting that the entire Obama Administration is 'all in' with the rebalance to Asia, but something is revealed by the very fact that senior US figures are offering such reassurances. If America's partners in Asia already believed that the Obama Administration had the intent and capability to properly execute the rebalance, then surely such comments would be unnecessary.
It's also unclear as to whether the Obama Administration has really thought through what the 'rebalance' strategy might require in terms of military resources. In February this year, Biden, whilst visiting Europe, reassured NATO allies that 'Europe is the cornerstone of our engagement with the rest of the world and it the catalyst for our global cooperation. It's that basic. Nothing has changed'. Such arguments, if delivered regularly to different audiences, could fast become like that other (eventually) illogical saying — that America has 'no closer friend than country X'.
It's worth noting that Biden yesterday reiterated the idea of Europe as the 'cornerstone' of America's global engagement. Combined with Kerry's concern about the rebalance possibly starting an insecurity spiral (or security dilemma) with China, and America's (debatably) muted response to recent assertive/aggressive acts, is it any surprise that some in Asia are beginning to doubt America's commitment to the rebalance strategy?
