The US asseveration

Asseveration: An earnest affirmation or declaration of support (Source: Wiktionary)

The visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Malaysia is an arrangement of the American strategic layout in South-East Asia, or even Asia. It shows that Malaysia is still valuable in terms of diplomacy.

After attending the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Hanoi, and paying official visits to Hainan in China, Cambodia and Malaysia, Clinton continued her journey to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Together with the US Secretary of Defence, she will attend the Five-Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) meeting of Defence Ministers. It is obvious from all these that the US is trying to balance China's influence in the region.

Among South-East Asian countries, Cambodia is having a close relation with China, and Clinton had actually advised Cambodia in Phnom Penh “not to overly rely" on China. Malaysia, too, is having a good relation with China. Clinton chose to visit Malaysia, instead of Singapore which is having a military cooperation with the US, to fight for a tie with Malaysia, a moderate Islamic state, to protect the American interests in the Straits of Malacca.

In the eyes of the US, national interests are always more important than any other issues. For the sake of its national interests, the US had assisted authoritarian governments that supported the US. For example, the US used to support the Taliban that confronted the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union retreated, Afghanistan has become a terrorist nest under the rule of Taliban. The US then sent troops to defeat the Taliban government based on the American security concerns.

The US exerts pressure on China for the appreciation of the RMB not to save the world economy but to help the American exports instead. The appreciation of the RMB will make American goods cheaper.

The US is a selfish country. To save its own economy, the US government printed a huge amount of cash notes and devalued the US dollar. As a result, it exported inflation to countries around the world. Prices of various metals, commodities and food have been surging due to overflowing hot money. The US Federal Reserve is about to start the second round of Quantity Easing Policy. It is expected to continue inflating the asset bubble and harm the world.

However, the US is also "cute", in that it upholds its concepts of democracy and human rights, which are universal values in its views, and continues exporting them to other countries.

When former US Vic-President Albert Arnold Gore attended the Kuala Lumpur Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on 22 November 1998, he critized Malaysia over the arrest of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, causing a strong counter-attack from our political leaders, and leading strained bilateral relations between the US and Malaysia.

The US is a capitalist democratic country, with its own interests being its priority and its self-appointed "international police" role, which has been played down in recent years.

In comparison, China's policy on Third World seems to prioritize friendship rather than self-interests. For example, China has a large number of investments in Africa in addition to giving aid to the region.

During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Asian currencies fluctuated and China didn’t depreciate the RMB. In 2007, the US subprime mortgage crisis swept across global financial markets and domestic demand was expanded, thanks to China's RMB4 trillion stimulus package.

Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is committed to implementing economic transformation. Hence, Malaysia needs to make friends with the US, China and India. However, we must know their temperaments and consideration to slot in between these great powers and protect our national interests.