But China’s rise and America’s other global and domestic concerns have left many Asians wondering just how enduring those commitments will be in the future. Nevertheless, China’s recent strategic assertiveness has led many Asian democracies to seek to deepen their ties with the US, as South Korea has done with a bilateral free-trade agreement.
由于美国在太平洋战争后一直主导亚洲，所以上述和平结构的缺失在某种程度上是不十分明显的。但是随着中国崛起以及美国注意力更多地转向其他国际国内事务，许多亚洲国家开始担心那些曾经的承诺究竟还能持续多久。而中国近期的战略压迫则迫使许多亚洲民主国家寻求加深与美国的关系，比如韩国就已经与美国签订了一份双边自由贸易协议，美国也投桃报李，在其国防支出大幅度消减的情况下承诺不减少与亚洲相关的防务支出。