United states foreign policy in south asia christina b. The nss defines the indopacific region pdf as stretching from the west coast of india to the western shores of the united states page 46. The five regions of asia asia countries and regions. Deputy assistant to the president lisa curtis will join. The united states primary strategic interest in this region is to build a more stable and prosperous central asia that is free to pursue political, economic, and security interests with a variety of partners on its own terms. The american university of central asia in bishkek is a growing hub for the. Russia, china, and the united states in central asia the web site. It is bounded on the north by russia and on the south by iran, afghanistan, and china. In policy terms, the rebalance entails three sets of initiatives security, economic, and diplomatic elements. Senior diplomats deputy secretary of state anthony blinken and principal deputy assistant secretary of the bureau of south and central asian affairs richard. Good morning and welcome, everyone, both here at the washington foreign press center, as well as those of you joining us in new york. Kevin rudd on the avoidable war between the united states and china the asia society policy institute president discusses the dangerous year and decade ahead for the worlds most important bilateral relationship with tom nagorski. Three major factors amplify the importance of placing south asia on the crowded front burner of u. Central asia, central region of asia, extending from the caspian sea in the west to the border of western china in the east.
Central asia has served more as the battleground for outside powers than as a power in its own right. Chinas changing role in central asia and implications. Interests congressional research service 1 introduction the central asian regionbordering regional powers russia, china, and iranis an ageold. Since central asia is the bridge connecting other major oil producing zones such as the persian gulf and siberia. Although this was an important task, this singular focus prevented us from thinking. American policy toward central asia should be based on the premise that it is a region of convergent rather than competitive interests, offering greater space for policies that do not work at crosspurposes and are even complementary. Central asia is no longer the policy backwater it once was. The heritage foundation will host a moderated discussion to launch the united states new strategy for central asia 20192025. The conventional wisdom until recently, particularly in the.
The united states is often and often fairly maligned for a distinct lack of strategy in its relations with central asia. The sixth section of the book is about the united states plans in central asia and afghanistan after 2014, while section seven, which is the final section of the book, provides readers with an analysis of the united states foreign policy in central asia. Pdf chinas foreign policy in central asia tony tai. Tacked on to chinese or afghanistan policy, bogged in securitization or stilted democratization efforts, washington has seemed unable to formulate a distinct, coherent policy for the region for years.
In recent years, under the influence of harmonious diplomacy, china has given every effort to improve its relationship with neighbouring countries to make a peaceful environment not only in accordance with the common interest of the chinese and. Rocca, assistant secretary for south asia affairs remarks to the american chamber of commerce luncheon dhaka, bangladesh may 18, 2004. Jan 25, 2016 unlike the united states, however, russia and china also have considerable resources to assist central asia. China first started to play a role in the region in the early 1990s, driven by its concern that the acquisition of independence by the central asian republics would encourage separatism in xinjiang. Central asia has been divided, redivided, conquered out of existence, and fragmented time and time again. United states foreign policy in the states of central asia. East asia china, mongolia, north korea, south korea, japan, hong kong, taiwan, macau east asia is located east of central asia, with its eastern border running along the east china sea. The united statess approach to central asia, of course, will not be made in a vacuum.
A premature birth, 320, international crisis group. The threat of terrorism makes very clear the security interests the united states shares with central asia. Much less consensus exists on the extent to which central banks should take account of asset prices in the conduct of monetary policy. During the first quarter century after the collapse of. Unlike the united states, however, russia and china also have considerable resources to assist central asia. From the clinton to the trump administrations, washington has claimed to have consistent strategic goals. The csis platform allows african leaders to engage in constructive discussion with their u. Browse our archives of magazine articles, interviews, and indepth essays from experts in central asia. Chinas response to the complex challenges on its western borders during the past two decades has been to adopt an empty fortress strategy, whereby china boldly projects an image of considerable strength in central and south asia to mask serious frailty. Ethnic groups and identities part, section beginning with the words the artificiality, the reality effect of a state structure part, from independence to emerging nationalism part, 7273, 116121, 161168, 173182. Mar 18, 2015 at a critical time for the region and for us policy. He is the bestselling author of fifteen books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, including asias cauldron, the revenge of geography, monsoon, balkan ghosts, and eastward to tartary. A new report from human rights watch and uzbek activists alleges the continued use of forced and child labor in harvesting the central asian countrys cotton crop.
Central asia policy that draws out many of the criticisms regional watchers had with the report. Political tracts, novels, and additional scholarly literature are suggested for further. From the icebound passes of the hindu kush to the blazing heat of the karakum desert, central asia is a subcontinent steeped in illusion. Jun 20, 2016 the sixth section of the book is about the united states plans in central asia and afghanistan after 2014, while section seven, which is the final section of the book, provides readers with an analysis of the united states foreign policy in central asia 19912015 along with the authors findings. The lowkey, lowcost, proliferationfirst policy that the united states developed worked well in meeting all of these needs. For over a decade, us policy towards central asia has been an appendage of our security footprint in afghanistan, focusing on securing access agreements and logistics thenetworks necessary to supply us forces. The first hypothesis, probably, tells us more about the initial priorities and intentions of china in central asia. Priorities in the south and central asia region united.
Interests congressional research service summary u. After the events of september 11, 2001, the united states national security interests in central asia underwent a drastic shift. As a result, the united states is pursuing its policy objectives in central asia through a combination of diplomacy, relationship building, and foreign assistance, in addition to increasing its. China, mongolia, north korea, south korea, japan, hong kong, taiwan, and macau. An immediate first step in this direction will be to. In a much awaited afghanistan and south asia policy of the new trump administration, pakistan has been singularly singled out by president trump as he announced the core pillars of his strategy to prosecute the us war in afghanistan on august 21, 2017. Ambassador alice wells, principal deputy assistant secretary for south and central asian affairs, talks to navbahor imamova, voice of america uzbek service, about the trump administrations approach to central asia, uzbekistans reform agenda, afghanistan and the new south asia strategy. The challenges with the worst of the crisis behind us, the policy focus in asia is now geared towards managing the cyclical recovery. As of 2014, however, chinas influence in the region remains quite modest except in the economic realm. The onus of us failure in afghanistan has once again fallen on pakistan. Foreign policy towards central asia find, read and cite all the. It is important to analyze some of the key issues for central and south asia as this region will prove vital for u.
Central asia presents several formidable challenges to american policy makers. For the first ten years after kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, turkmenistan, and uzbekistan became independent, sovereign states, the united states saw its interests in the region as limited. Oil dreams haunt the caucasus and central asia by marc garcelon, acting executive director 19971998, berkeley program in soviet and postsoviet studies spring 1998 199805. Chinas main economic interest in central asia is energy, its economic policy is aimed at securing and diversifying channels of energy supply for chinas continual development. The question is whether or not it is also an anomaly. While its energy resources and proximity to russia, iran, and china did require some u. Moreover, the regions importance to moscow will continue to. Thank you for your warm welcome and thank you, president islam, for your kind introduction. Developments and relationships there really matter. Last week, the carnegie endowment for international peace released a report intended to ground u.
The us state department recently shared the countrys new policy vision for central asia. Tacked on to chinese or afghanistan policy, bogged in. Trumps new strategy for afghanistan and south asia. United states and central asia in central asian security. Threats to stability emanating from the region, the overall strategic significance of south asia, and several notable geopolitical shifts. Central asia had both the advantage and disadvantage of. Central asias significant energy resources are certainly a motivating factor for regional economic development and integration. Browse our archives of magazine articles, interviews, and in depth essays from experts in central asia. The csis africa program is the major forum in washington, dc for balanced, nonpartisan dialogue and research on u. We are extremely pleased to have with us today assistant secretary for south and central asian affairs nisha desai biswal, who will discuss u. Priorities and constraints the united states can neither ignore nor be ignored by central asia. United states recast its foreign policy toward central asia. The conventional wisdom until recently, particularly in the us, was that central banks should not.
Feb 05, 2020 the heritage foundation will host a moderated discussion to launch the united states new strategy for central asia 20192025. The changing logic of russian strategy in central asia. Policy as the united states continues on a glide path toward a substantially smaller military footprint in afghanistan, central asia s importance as the gateway to afghanistan will decline in america s strategic calculus. The region consists of the former soviet republics of kazakhstan, uzbekistan. Central asia is critical to putins aim of establishing russia as the leading player in the eurasian heartland, and as an independent center of global power alongside the united states and china. Central asia since 2001, chinas diplomatic, military, and economic influence in central asia has grown dramatically. East asia is politically divided into eight countries and regions. Chinas changing role in central asia and implications for. Ironically, getting the balance correct will make it more likely that in the long term the united states. The new international context, have showed that the foreign policy of the united states in central asia is based on three broad approach i.
Stay up to date on the latest news, analysis, and commentary in central asia. The united states continues to be a partner in many ongoing regional development projects, and as we have done over the last 27 years, the united states stands with the people of central asia as close friends and partners in support of their development as strong, sovereign, and independent states, and were proud of this history together and. This paper will argue that the united states needs to reevaluate its policy in central asia in order to bring its advocacy of american values and its pursuit of its strategic interests into proper balance. Our policy in central asia also focuses on building each countrys capacity for internal economic growth as well as nurturing bilateral commercial ties. The united states, china, and russia have been dominant players in the new contest for influence in the region. Foreign policy priorities in south and central asia. Us department of state until the trump administration appoints a new assistant secretary of state, ambassador alice wells, the principal deputy assistant secretary for south and central asian affairs, will remain washingtons point person for the region.
While there is no serious intention to revive the ussr, the kremlin is keen to ensure a primary right of. Request pdf on jun 8, 2018, yuliya shokh and others published u. Monetary and currency policy management in asia 5 only way to achieve price stability. Central asia has always been the strategic and commercial crossroad of civilizations between europe and asia. Through bilateral military and civilian partnership programs, the united states is working with the central asian states to. Pdf chinas foreign policy in central asia tony taiting. Kaplan is a senior fellow at the center for a new american security, originally joining the center in march 2008.