244
supplying Russia (Author’s interview with Matthew Bryza 2017). Turkmenistan
was beginning to cool its relations with the US during the end of the Bush era, when
it demanded a timetable for the US troops’ withdrawal from bases in the country,
followed by a request to leave. Meanwhile, the Kashagan Oil Field in Kazakhstan
will potentially join the BTC in the future, and with Kazakhstan having played an
admirable balancing act between, Russia, China, and the US, looks likely to continue to benefit from further opportunities in the future.
The elimination of the post of “Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy by the Obama
Administration” and subsequent creation of a Special Envoy and Coordinator for
International Energy Affairs within the State Department is the clearest example of
a break between Obama and the previous Clinton and Bush Administrations. As a
result of this administrative reorganization, the post effectively lost its power, playing a subordinate role whose policy ideas could be crushed by greater departments
with no recourse to the White House.
US policy at that time was supported by the White House, Energy Department,
State Department, and Commerce Department. But when the post landed at the
Department of State, it became one of many posts and effectively lost its teeth, relegated to diplomatic pushes for greater transparency and organizing talks.
China Key Role in Caspian Sea Region
Another difference between the Bush and Obama administrations came in Obama’s
shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region as part of a greater foreign policy overhaul.
This came about as a natural consequence of Obama’s withdrawal from Afghanistan,
along with a general downscaling of overt troop presences in the Central Asia,
Middle East, and its bases along the way.
The Obama administration’s diplomatic stress on Asia reflected its concern that
China’s rise was encouraging China to act contrary to regional stability and contrary
to US alliance stability, namely regarding Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. This perception
of China’s rise reflected, among other things, the rise of China’s economic power
throughout Asia. As a result, an economically renewed China, hungry for resources,
in fact, found a valve for its increased clout in America’s withdrawal from Central
Asia. Given the New Silk Road initiative pushed forth by the United States aimed at
increased cooperation and ties between the countries of the region in order to dilute
Russia’s hold, China’s expansion into the area was seen as acceptable and even
welcomed by the US in some quarters (Author’s interview with Robert S Ross 2017).
China’s own “One Road” project is more than lip service to greater cooperation
in the region; however, and is in fact backed by huge investment projects. During the
coming years, the country promises to invest $50 billion in the Central Asia region,
backed by private companies being supported by the state in an effort to invest in the
region’s energy sector and infrastructure. In terms of how this play with Russia,
China is playing a delicate game in order to ensure that Russia understands that the
country intends no military presence in the region and seems to have succeeded.
7 Conclusion
supplying Russia (Author’s interview with Matthew Bryza 2017). Turkmenistan
was beginning to cool its relations with the US during the end of the Bush era, when
it demanded a timetable for the US troops’ withdrawal from bases in the country,
followed by a request to leave. Meanwhile, the Kashagan Oil Field in Kazakhstan
will potentially join the BTC in the future, and with Kazakhstan having played an
admirable balancing act between, Russia, China, and the US, looks likely to continue to benefit from further opportunities in the future.
The elimination of the post of “Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy by the Obama
Administration” and subsequent creation of a Special Envoy and Coordinator for
International Energy Affairs within the State Department is the clearest example of
a break between Obama and the previous Clinton and Bush Administrations. As a
result of this administrative reorganization, the post effectively lost its power, playing a subordinate role whose policy ideas could be crushed by greater departments
with no recourse to the White House.
US policy at that time was supported by the White House, Energy Department,
State Department, and Commerce Department. But when the post landed at the
Department of State, it became one of many posts and effectively lost its teeth, relegated to diplomatic pushes for greater transparency and organizing talks.
China Key Role in Caspian Sea Region
Another difference between the Bush and Obama administrations came in Obama’s
shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region as part of a greater foreign policy overhaul.
This came about as a natural consequence of Obama’s withdrawal from Afghanistan,
along with a general downscaling of overt troop presences in the Central Asia,
Middle East, and its bases along the way.
The Obama administration’s diplomatic stress on Asia reflected its concern that
China’s rise was encouraging China to act contrary to regional stability and contrary
to US alliance stability, namely regarding Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. This perception
of China’s rise reflected, among other things, the rise of China’s economic power
throughout Asia. As a result, an economically renewed China, hungry for resources,
in fact, found a valve for its increased clout in America’s withdrawal from Central
Asia. Given the New Silk Road initiative pushed forth by the United States aimed at
increased cooperation and ties between the countries of the region in order to dilute
Russia’s hold, China’s expansion into the area was seen as acceptable and even
welcomed by the US in some quarters (Author’s interview with Robert S Ross 2017).
China’s own “One Road” project is more than lip service to greater cooperation
in the region; however, and is in fact backed by huge investment projects. During the
coming years, the country promises to invest $50 billion in the Central Asia region,
backed by private companies being supported by the state in an effort to invest in the
region’s energy sector and infrastructure. In terms of how this play with Russia,
China is playing a delicate game in order to ensure that Russia understands that the
country intends no military presence in the region and seems to have succeeded.
7 Conclusion