Zack Cooper and I have just published a piece in Foreign Affairs in which we flag a recurring gap over the past decade between talk in Washington about the importance of Asia and actual delivery, and call for the Biden administration and Congress to work together urgently to address these issues in a bipartisan fashion.

• Link and suggested citation: Zack Cooper and Adam P. Liff, “America Still Needs to Rebalance to Asia,” Foreign Affairs, August 11, 2021.

• You can expect a lengthier report from us soon, but in this (relatively short) Foreign Affairs piece we highlight three areas where a course correction is most urgently needed:
  1. recalibrating policy discourse and strategy to focus more on a positive, comprehensive regional agenda (rather than framing efforts reactively as being about “competition with China”…)
  2. developing and executing a robust and proactive economic strategy for Asia (rather than standing on the sidelines while economic integration accelerates without the USA…)
  3. significantly expanding investments in regional diplomacy and efforts to bolster deterrence…

As we write in the intro, “President Joe Biden asserts that “America is back” in its traditional leadership role, and his administration’s early approach to Asia has hit many of the right notes. But fulfilling Biden’s ambitions in Asia will require not just vision but also execution. Moving forward, the administration and Congress must resolve the recurring disconnect over the past decade between ambitious rhetoric and underwhelming action.”

The region is looking for–and judging us on–concrete action. Time to deliver.

Please check it out!