President Barack Obama was on a four nation tour of Asia. Doubts have been assailing these countries in the Asia-Pacific for some time about how willing the US is to come to their help in the face of a territorially assertive China. President Obama had cancelled his trip to Asia last October as there was a shutdown of the US government for a while. At the present moment, Washington is preoccupied with the turmoil in parts of West Asia and a growing crisis in Ukraine. Of course, during his trip Obama has reaffirmed US military support for Japan in its dispute with China. Malaysia also has territorial disputes with China which call for US attention. The US is committed to cautious support to Japan, strengthening cooperation with the Philippines and a firm friendship with South Korea. But the President’s assurances may not put the Asian allies of the US at their ease. It is not clear whether Obama’s brief tour fulfilled its objectives. The trade aspect has met with a setback. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to overcome opposition at home to a trade deal with the US. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has run into a set of hurdles.
India has reason to be involved in the goings-on in the far eastern region. The US-Japan joint statement has indicated the willingness of Washington and Tokyo to strengthen trilateral cooperation with likeminded partners such as South Korea, Australia and India. There will be a US-Japan-India trialogue in New Delhi sometime this summer. The UPA II government had shown scant interest in these developments. It is upto the next government in New Delhi to move towards a stronger defence and economic partnership with Washington.