The national interests of the United States in Southeast Asia : policy changes for their protection and promotion since the withdrawal from the naval base at Subic Bay

• Main Author: Hasselman, Karen A.
• Other Authors: Buss, Claude Albert
• Published: Monterey, California : Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/33995

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. === In November 1992, the United States withdrew its military forces from facilities in the Republic of the Philippines. The United States must now reassess its commitments, and the means and policies it will employ in protecting and promoting national interests in the post-Cold War era. This thesis examines the author's perceived global national interests of the United States in the post-Cold War era, based upon the Preamble of the United States Constitution. United States national interests abroad include protection of American lives and property, economic prosperity, and international goodwill. The perceived national interests of the United States in the East-Asia/Pacific (EA/P) region, with particular emphasis placed on the Southeast Asian sub-region, are discussed. This thesis then examines the political, social, and economic evolution of the Southeast Asian sub-region, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and historical United States national interests in the Southeast Asian sub-region. Past means and policies of the United States to protect and promote its interests in the Southeast Asian sub-region are reviewed. Finally, the opportunities and challenges now facing the United States in devising future means and policies to promote and protect United States national interests, as well as those of other nations, in the EA/P region are explained.