A key architect of President Obama’s Asia “pivot” is taking a top position on the incoming Biden administration’s National Security Council (NSC).
Kurt Campbell will serve as coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the NSC as a deputy to Jake Sullivan, Biden’s pick for national security advisor. Campbell’s appointment is a sign that Biden plans to prioritize alliance building in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing.
Campbell served as the State Department’s top Asia diplomat from 2009 to 2013. During his time at the State Department, Campbell made frequent visits to Asian allies and led Washington’s reshuffling of resources to focus on the Indo-Pacific, known as the Asia “pivot.”
After leaving the Obama administration, Campbell founded the Asia Group, a strategy firm that advises companies doing business in Asian markets. Campbell also sits on the board of directors of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a hawkish think tank he co-founded with Michele Flournoy in 2007.
Campbell is the former CEO of CNAS. The think tank advocates for US intervention around the globe and is funded by US weapons makers, major corporations, and various governments.
This week, Campbell co-authored a column for Foreign Affairs titled, “How America Can Shore Up Asian Order.” The article calls for the US to deter “Chinese adventurism.” The authors argue that the US should move away from expensive and vulnerable military equipment like aircraft carriers and focus more on smaller, inexpensive options.
“This means investing in long-range conventional cruise and ballistic missiles, unmanned carrier-based strike aircraft and underwater vehicles, guided-missile submarines, and high-speed strike weapons,” the piece reads.
The piece calls for the US to work with states in the Indo-Pacific to better allocate resources across the region: “Although Washington should maintain its forward presence, it also needs to work with other states to disperse US forces across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.”
The Trump administration has accelerated the Asia “pivot” and laid the groundwork for Campbell and the Biden administration to form stronger security alliances in the region.
Often overlooked, one of Trump’s first actions killed the pivot. In a major accomplishment, President Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January 2017 which removed the conerstone of Obama’s “pivot to Asia” and allowed China the option of leading the Asia economy via its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). And then in 2020 China finalized a massive Asian trade deal, the ASEAN-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Recent efforts by Pompeo to marshal Asia support for the US animosity toward China has failed, because Asia countries see the future involves China not the US. As a result of all this, the US is left with obvious failure in the area, with the five years of phoney-FONOPS having achieved nothing. The US is left with two weak allies, Japan and Australia, with India refusing to join the Quad. The recent four-country exercise sponsored by India, Malabar 2020, included 7 Ships: Australia 1, India 4, Japan 1, US 1. China with over 300 naval ships must have found that humorous.
The Chief of Naval Operations, who by the way has nothing to do with naval operations, but heads the Navy, has presented a new guidance which jibes (naval term for a sometimes dangerous maneuver) with Campbell’s.