U.S. Isn't the Pushy One in Asia

Hugh White continues to paint a picture of the United States being the principal cause of the growing tensions in Asia by not making enough concessions, and by ‘containing’ rather than ‘ceding primacy’ to China. He claims ‘American efforts to perpetuate primacy in the face of China’s challenge will create not peace and stability but escalating rivalry and a growing risk of conflict.’ Many in the region would disagree. I could understand this line being argued under the ‘hawkish’ Bush administration. But I can’t quite see how this line is maintained concerning a reluctant and non-combative Barack Obama. Sure, the United States has talked about a ‘pivot’ or a rebalancing, but in reality it has not amounted to much more than a return to barracks of those forces that used to be based there (in Okinawa, Guam and Hawaii) before they deployed for over a decade on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even then, the siren calls of the Middle East continue to beckon. So much for an Asian-centric pivot.