The U.S. defense budget faces cuts of up to $350 billion over the next decade. And if the bipartisan congressional “super committee” fail to agree on an overall deficit reduction plan, another automatic cut of up to $500 billion looms. With this budget crisis coinciding with recent, major security developments in China, Japan, Korea and throughout Southeast Asia, the time is right to focus on the issues that will be affected, including the key U.S. alliance partnerships, military base questions and arms export decisions.
On October 17, the 21st Century Defense Initiative and the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings hosted a discussion on East Asia in the context of a declining U.S. defense budget. Panelists included: Michael Green of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Georgetown University; Mike Mochizuki of George Washington University; and Brookings Senior Fellow Jonathan Pollack. Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon, director of research for Foreign Policy, moderated the discussion.
After the program, the participants took audience questions.