Bridge over the Pacific

More than a century and a half after Millard Fillmore dispatched an emissary to Asia to transform commerce across the Pacific, a US president again sees an historic opportunity to strengthen America's role in the region.

Barack Obama sent his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, to Asia for a record 86 days in his first term, including - for the first time - stops in all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Obama himself became the first sitting commander-in-chief to visit Myanmar, a nation the International Monetary Fund says might be the next economic frontier in Asia.

As in the wake of US Commodore Matthew Perry's 1850s voyages to Japan, American companies are seeking greater opportunities, with General Electric and Ford Motor backing Obama's plan for an 11-country Pacific trade deal that could bring in US$108 billion a year. Instead of Perry's gunships, what may propel Asian nations towards Obama's vision is concern from Japan to Vietnam that China's ascendance may pose a threat.

"The US is serious about its commitment to Asia and sees Asia as the future in terms of economic growth in the 21st century," said Simon Kahn, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and Google's chief Asia-Pacific marketing officer. "That has a very real impact in discussions with business counterparts in terms of thinking about long-term investments."

The connection is part personal for Obama, 51, who lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971. In his second year in office, the president returned to Indonesia's capital, addressing an audience of about 6,000 at the University of Indonesia, highlighting prospects for deeper economic ties, "because a rising middle class here means new markets for our goods, just as America is a market for yours".

Less than two years after that visit, Boeing confirmed a record 230-plane order valued at US$22.4 billion at list prices from Indonesian budget carrier Lion Mentari Airlines.