East-West Center in the News

(2012-07-17) “The Philippines is in a strategically important location. It’s an ally. It’s smack in the middle of the South China Sea,” said Denny Roy, a senior fellow with the East-West Center in Hawaii. “Greater access to the Philippines would, no question, make some operations easier … and enable [the U.S.] to bring more forces to bear.”

... But having a short-term presence may be less important to the United States than improving ties with the Philippines, Roy said, considering the hot-bed issues in the region, which includes balancing military forces to counter the perceived rising threat from China.

Shorter deployments, he said, also could ease the pressure off Okinawa, where the United States is pressed to reduce its footprint even as it plans to shift 5,000 Marines to other places, including Hawaii and Guam, in the coming years. “It’s more a matter that the United States would make do with the best situation it can get,” he said, adding, “It’s a matter of taking an advantage to improve their positioning” in the region

(2012-07-22) “The assurance that the United States wants to send out is that the talk of our demise is greatly exaggerated. That not only do we have the strength to continue to play the role in the region that we have, but we have a commitment to do so,” said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at Honolulu’s East-West Center.

“The United States, though, is struggling to make that message believable because of its financial crisis.”