This piece was first posted in newly reformatted online Asia Times.
Month of March has not been
kind to the worldwide image of Uncle Sam. First Bibi Netanyahu came calling,
uninvited by President Obama, and proceeded to tell him how the U.S. should
deal with Iran.
Obama declined to appoint
Netanyahu as America’s special envoy to Iran, but Bibi got the last laugh as
the afterglow of his appearance before the joint session of Congress in
Washington gave him a landslide mandate in Tel Aviv.
At least Obama can console
himself that Bibi didn’t single-handedly make him look bad but was much abetted
by Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans. This merry band on the hill
didn’t care much for the niceties of diplomatic protocol if it means they could
embarrass their own sitting president.
Obama’s stand on China’s
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB, on the other hand, was a
self-inflicted black eye with no better explanation than as another consequence
of American hubris.
Officially, Obama proclaimed
that with Asian Development Bank and World Bank functioning just fine under
American and Japanese leadership, there is no need for AIIB. He asked America’s
European allies, Australia, Japan and South Korea not to join the new bank.
The first to bolt was U.K., America’s
heretofore closest ally. All the rest pile in so as to not miss out being a
founding member.
When the formation of AIIB
was announced in October, there were 21 countries that signed on. By the March 31 deadline, 46 countries have applied
to be founding members. (The final tally of founding nations was 57.)
Every country Obama asked not
to join, has, except a wavering Japan that almost caved.
Obviously, the prestige of
the American presidency was not enough to dissuade the allies of the perceived
importance of becoming a founding member of AIIB.
How the infrastructure
investments in Asia will reward the members of the bank remains to be seen. But
clearly the forty some countries have confidence in China’s leadership and did
not want to miss the boat. Their stampede makes the American position seem
petty and hollow.
Everybody sees Asia to be the
fastest growing region in the world. Infrastructure investments will accelerate
and facilitate that economic growth. People of Asia will enjoy unrivaled
prosperity and rest of the world will benefit by doing business with Asia.
China has already
demonstrated that they know how to make large infrastructure investments in
China and turn such investments into unparalleled economic growth. They have a
proven track record to lead the new investment bank.
Alas for the U.S., the
American leaders from the president on down are so imbued with the belief of
American exceptionalism that America finds it hard to conceive that others can
be exceptional in their own ways.
Since the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has gone around the world as
the only hegemon standing. The American foreign policy is basically one of “do
as I tell you.”
After the financial crisis of
2008, China as America’s largest creditor had quietly approached Washington for
a more equal role in dealing world problems of common interest. However, even
if the Obama administration was receptive, Congress was having none of that.
America’s rebuff had caused China to find other ways to exert their influence.
One of the most prominent
ways has been for China to make investments in hospitals, schools, roads and
other infrastructure around the world to be paid with resources, most notably
in Africa and Latin America. Their win-win approach has been popularly received
and may be another reason why other countries find AIIB appealing.
America’s win-lose approach
to world affairs has cost the U.S. trillions in Afghanistan and Iraq and
created a vast zone of instability from Ukraine through the Middle East to
sub-Sahara Africa. To restore stability, the U.S. needs to revise the
my-way-or-the-highway approach and admit that they need to collaborate with
other stakeholders.
