US must remain strongly involved in East Asia

By Kim Young-jin

The United States must enhance its stabilizing role in East Asia, at a time when the region faces a number of volatile situations and China has yet to show a 'sense of responsibility' in dealing with the international community, a U.S. senator said Tuesday.

'The presence of the United States in East Asia has been an enormously valuable balancing force since the end of World War II,' Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) told a forum at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul. 'It is vitally important for us to remain strongly involved, not simply military but economically and culturally (as well).'

Webb, chairman of the Senate committee on East Asia and Pacific affairs, said volatile situations throughout the region, including those in Thailand, Myanmar and on the Korean Peninsula, call for the United States to take the role of 'principled arbiter.'

Webb, who met with President Lee Myung-bak Monday to discuss the response to the Cheonan incident, departed for Thailand Tuesday to meet with leaders there. He will wrap up his Asian trip with a visit to Myanmar.

His remarks came as Seoul prepares to bring the sinking of its Navy vessel Cheonan, which it says was torpedoed by North Korea, before the U.N. Security Council. Support from Beijing, a permanent, veto-wielding member of the council, is seen as vital for Seoul to secure punitive measures there.

Webb said the United States must encourage China, the North's last benefactor, to be 'more open and overt' in approaching challenges on the Korean Peninsula.

'The Chinese government needs to actively assist in resolving these issues rather than sitting back and making bland statements, and maybe doing something behind the scenes,' he said.

Webb, who has travelled extensively in Asia as a government official and journalist, believes China's rapid economic emergence has not been balanced with a 'proper sense of national responsibility' when it comes to its relations with other countries in the region.

The senator cited China's actions in the East and South China Seas, where Japan and Vietnam have each accused it of violating their sovereign rights, as examples of behavior unbefitting of a global leader.

Webb said China's position on the Cheonan incident when it reaches the UNSC will be a barometer of its willingness to cooperate with the international community.

'It is a good opportunity for the rest of the world to observe and comment on whether China is proceeding in a mature fashion as a member of the international community,' he said. 'It's a test of whether it can participate among the leadership of the world community.'

In addition to maintaining security guarantees and encouraging cooperation from Beijing, Webb said the United States must increase its economic activity in the region.

Webb vigorously advocated the timely ratification of the stalled Korea-U.S. FTA (KORUS FTA), saying it would 'send a signal to the rest of the region about how we are working together on many levels.'

The deal was signed three years ago but still awaits ratification by the legislatures of both countries. Washington has been reluctant due to what it views as lopsided auto trade and restricted shipments of American beef.

The senator described the chances of the FTA's ratification before the U.S. midterm elections in November as 'not good but not completely out of the question.'

Webb, after meeting with officials in Seoul, said he is 'reinvigorated' to urge President Barack Obama and Senate leaders to approve the pact this year.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/07/113_66863.html