Barack Obama’s Asian Swan Song Sees World Leaders Test Limits of U.S. Power U.S. president is confronted with challenges to his Asian agenda and overall American authority on final trip to the regionBy Carol E. Lee
http://www.wsj.com/articles/barack-obamas-asian-swan-song-sees-world-leaders-test-limits-of-u-s-power-1473273119
VIENTIANE, Laos—One of President Barack Obama’s final turns on the international stage before leaving office spotlighted how some world leaders are testing the limits of U.S. power just months before a new American administration.
From the moment Mr. Obama stepped off the plane in the lakeside city of Hangzhou, China, through his meetings at a summit in Laos, he has faced challenges to his policies and overall American authority in ways large and small.
Russian President Vladimir Putin left the Obama administration empty-handed after intense negotiations on a deal to reduce violence in Syria. North Korea, the glaring setback in Mr. Obama’s Asia policy, tested ballistic missiles. On Tuesday U.S. officials said Iran made yet another provocative move toward a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made profane comments about Mr. Obama on the eve of their first meeting, leading the White House to cancel a sit-down with the leader of one of America’s treaty allies. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was unexpectedly positive in public remarks about relations with the U.S., yet also challenged a core component of Mr. Obama’s strategy against Islamic State extremists: backing Kurdish forces in Syria.
And while Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Mr. Obama for a lengthy one-on-one meeting and cooperated with the U.S. on climate change, significant areas of tension between the two countries went unresolved.
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said most of these developments “are just the latest installments of long-running sagas,” citing Russia and Syria, North Korea and differences between the U.S. and Turkey over the Kurds.
“They are all manifestations of what I would describe as a world in disarray,” he said.
Still, the Obama administration’s effort to shift U.S. diplomatic and military attention toward Asia has left a mark, sending more U.S. forces, ships, planes and military sales toward the region. Two key steps include a new U.S.-Philippine military agreement implemented this year, and a decision this year to lift restrictions on military sales to Vietnam.
Given U.S. investments in Southeast Asia, and its massive military presence, “it’s China that is trying to compete with U.S. influence in the region—not the other way round,” said Ian Storey, a Southeast Asia expert at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“That’s not to say that Southeast Asian countries aren’t eager to attract Chinese money,” he added. “But when you’re throwing your weight around the South China Sea, I think there’s a limit as to how much influence and reassurance you can buy.”CONTINUE AT SITE
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