US in Asia

1. US provide a security umbrella and have become a " stabilizing " force since the cold war era. Due to a number of geopolitical shift, however, US has reduced its strategic focus from security to primarily economic issues.

2. The rise of non-traditional security threats like terrorism, human & arms trafficking has promted some countries in this region to rethink the continuity of US presence.

3. Each Southeast Asian Countries has developed its own concept of what constitutes a threat to their national security. Rejection by Malaysia & Indonesia in particular of the US Regional Maritime Security Initiative in the Strait of Malacca - an initiative to work with Southeast Asian navies to intercept pirates and/or terrorist groups planning attacts on tankers or international ports like Singapore - highlights this different of perception, particularly of threat and sovereignty.