Is it Time to Rethink America’s Rebalance to the Indo-Pacific? Dr Zack Cooper, Visiting Senior Fellow at RSIS and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute explored this question at an RSIS Seminar held on 25 August 2025.
Looking back on the Obama administration’s pivot towards Asia, Dr Cooper noted that this push has been successful in shifting American rhetoric and strategic attention. However, subsequent administrations were unable to commit the economic and diplomatic resources to support this pivot. At present, the sole pillar that holds up American engagement with the region is security – yet its attention here is largely concentrated in Northeast Asia.
Even if Washington wished to correct these imbalances, Dr Cooper noted that trying to resuscitate America’s pivot to Asia in its original scale and ambition is impossible. Not only are the American people more inward-looking and sceptical of spending resources outside of the country, but the world has become much more multipolar, with other countries exercising more agency in their foreign relations. In addition, there is no sustained strategy or consensus on Asia between the Democrat and Republican parties.
While the US will continue being focused on security in Northeast Asia, there are growing questions about how it should deal with a potential Taiwan contingency. It will likely work more through key allies and partners to uphold regional stability, such as having Indonesia take a bigger role in Southeast Asian issues. However, Dr Cooper expressed that we are likely to see changes in US ties with Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan, with potential consequences for nuclear proliferation in Asia. He also expressed concern about the US-India relationship and suggested that the Quad minilateral grouping may go back into “hibernation” amid these tensions and scepticism about the Quad’s utility in Washington.
The silver lining to this dark picture is that the United States now knows the limits of what it can do in Asia. Whether it can accept these constraints and find a way forward remains to be seen.
