US policy shifts seen in Asia under new president

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WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (AFP): US policy in Asia is expected to undergo major shifts, whoever wins the race to the White House.
Both presidential contenders senators Barack Obama and John McCain have new ideas on how to handle a resurgent China, a nuclear-armed North Korea and address the rising Islamic militant threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
They also have fresh strategies to beef up alliances in Asia, engage the region in energy security and maintain US influence despite the severe effects of the current financial turmoil at home.
Incumbent President George W. Bush may have been credited by some experts for pursuing policies that have boosted ties with major powers such as China, India and Japan but the Obama and McCain campaigns feel amends are in order.
Obama is expected to push for China's entry into the Group of Eight (G8) major powers and link Beijing to a trilateral nuclear energy cooperation network with the United States and Japan, his strategists said.
McCain has blamed Obama for the failure of the Democratic-led Congress to ratify a US-South Korea free trade agreement, which the Bush administration wanted to use as a launching pad for a Pan Asian free trade initiative.
But the Obama campaign called the agreement flawed because of "inadequate treatment" of US automobile exports to South Korea.
McCain could also push for UN Security Council intervention in the Korean nuclear crisis if Pyongyang does not live up to its pledge to verify its nuclear program and resolve a kidnapping dispute with Japan, his aides said.
Both Obama and McCain are also equally concerned about the rising Taliban and Al-Qaeda threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Obama said that he would launch military strikes on extremist targets inside Pakistan if the Islamabad government is unwilling or unable to act.
Obama also repeated his favored strategy of taking US troops from Iraq and sending them to Afghanistan to better deal with a reconstituted Al-Qaeda.
McCain countered by calling for a "new strategy" against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan but did not provide details.
US forces in Afghanistan have launched cross border attacks on suspected militants hiding in Pakistan, much to the anger of the new democratic government in Islamabad.
Obama and McCain also appear to be receptive to Washington signing up to a non-aggression treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a precondition laid down by the group to nations wanting to participate in an annual East Asian Summit.
The Bush administration has refused to sign it due to bureaucratic rather than strategic reasons, some experts said.
He said an Obama administration could sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation "with reservations we need to assure our own basic fundamental security issues, including nuclear issues, so we can then have a seat at the table, literally, for the East Asia Summit."