America's "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific continues to hog the limelight even though the official phrase in Washington is now "strategic re-balancing." Much of this pivot to the Asia-Pacific continues and expands policies already undertaken by previous administrations, as well as earlier in President Barack Obama's term.
Since Obama's inauguration in 2009, the United States has given considerable time and emphasis to Asia and to regional multilateral institutions.
Under President George W. Bush, the U.S. emphasized the strengthening of relations with existing allies in Asia, began moving toward a more flexible and sustainable troop presence in the region, concluded a free-trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, brought the U.S. into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, and forged new partnerships with India and Vietnam. All of these steps have been furthered by the Obama administration. There are, however, a number of new aspects of the shift.
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