Geo-Strategic Context: South Asia, A National Security Strategy

摘要

The US South Asia policy needs to be redirected and refocused. It is time for us to recognize that this long overlooked region requires greater US attention, and that it presents promising opportunities in the coming century not only for the United States, but also for the world community. We need to explore the region beyond the presumed constraints, and extend our strategic vision to the plausibility of a conflict-free, economically sound South Asia with reduced threats of nuclear weapons and lessened perils of transnational problems. We begin this process with greater US involvement in the region by (1) actively promoting economic reform and market liberalization, (2) prevailing upon India and Pakistan to reduce regional conflict, (3) providing them with concrete incentives for capping nuclear capability, and, (4) impressing upon regional actors to address such other urgent issues as population growth, illicit drug production and trafficking, spread of communicable disease and environmental degradation that threaten the region's socio-economic equilibrium.