Marianna Schantz, A’23
On Wednesday, December 1st, ALLIES had the pleasure of welcoming (virtually) their second speaker of the semester, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear. Previously in his career, Shear served for over three decades in the foreign service, most notably as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. He also served in Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur, and he is a recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and the Defense Department’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award for his work in U.S. – Japan defense relations.
Shear presented to ALLIES on his extensive experience in U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, beginning the discussion by defining what the Indo-Pacific region encompasses as well as America’s geostrategy on the Eurasian continent. He explained that geopolitics is the value of locations according to strategic importance whereas geostrategy refers to where a state concentrates its efforts. Tracing America’s geostrategy through the Cold War, Shear highlighted that the U.S. wanted to prevent a single hegemon from dominating the Eurasian continent. Even now, he emphasized that the fringes of the Eurasian continent are most important strategically, and the U.S. should prevent them from coming under control of one hegemon. To pursue this goal, Shear discussed that the U.S. needs lines of defense, strong alliances along the lines of defense, and stationed military forces. Some problems with U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy lie in the differences between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, and that the U.S. lacks strong allies in Southeast Asia.
After finishing his presentation, Shear opened up the discussion to the students attending the Zoom call for a Q&A. He answered questions about geostrategic goals, anti-China sentiment, cultural understanding in conducting diplomatic relations, and more