IP25086

Author: Zack Cooper

Published: 05 September 2025

The time has come for the United States to fundamentally rethink its Indo-Pacific strategy.

When President Barack Obama proposed the “rebalance” to Asia, he sought to reorient US foreign policy towards Asia after a decade mired in the Middle East. In a sense, he succeeded. The Trump and Biden administrations both reaffirmed that Asia (later the Indo-Pacific) would be their top regional priority. It is now clear, however, that the United States is unwilling to embrace or unable to execute the core logic of the rebalance strategy. Of the three pillars that Obama emphasised – security, prosperity and good governance – only the security pillar of US strategy remains intact today. But the security pillar is narrowing to Northeast Asia, leaving the United States without a compelling approach to South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Pacific Islands.

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https://rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/idss/ip25086-rethinking-the-rebalance/

The Romanian Institute for Europe-Asia Studies (IRSEA) and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU have agreed to enter into an informal agreement on republishing their studies and analysis.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or view of IRSEA.