Pivot to Asia Strategy: Rise of China and US Asian Strategy

Despite the fact that the US has been always present in the Pacific and has guaranteed peace and security as the regional hegemon since the end of the WWII, in late 2011 it formally announced the Pivot to Asia strategy and declared that thAsia- Pacific has turned to its number 1 priority in foreign policy and national security. This attitude toward Asia has been kept in Trump administration too. Despite the fact that the US has been always present in the Pacific and has guaranteed peace and security as the regional hegemon since the end of the WWII, in late 2011 it formally announced the Pivot to Asia strategy and declared that thAsia- Pacific has turned to its number 1 priority in foreign policy and national security. This attitude toward Asia has been kept in Trump administration too. The question that raises to mind is that what made policy makers to consider Asia-Pacific region as the first priority in national security among other regions? In order to answer to this question, we have monitored the process of US relative power changes in the international system. We have drawn the power cycle of the US and other major powers of the international system including China in order to evaluate their power changes. The question that raises to mind is that what made policy makers to consider Asia-Pacific region as the first priority in national security among other regions? In order to answer to this question, we have monitored the process of US relative power changes in the international system. We have drawn the power cycle of the US and other major powers of the international system including China in order to evaluate their power changes. The findings show that the accelerating decline of US relative power simultaneous with the accelerating rise of China’s relative power is the main reason that has turned Asia-Pacific into the first priority of the US foreign policy and Pivot to Asia is an attempt to bring back equilibrium into the system and narrow the power-role gaps.