Obama Can Make His Asia Pivot Endure

The unprecedented gathering of Southeast Asian leaders in California this week can be seen as a significant achievement for Barack Obama's oft-dismissed "pivot" to Asia. Now, the president needs to lay down a framework to sustain and deepen U.S. engagement with the region well after he leaves office.

Obama, to be sure, can hardly take full credit for the meeting. Recent actions by China -- especially its maritime claims in the South China Sea -- have driven several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to sidle closer to the U.S. It's entirely possible that leaders in Beijing will find a way to recalibrate their approach, and even more likely that the next American president will be distracted by the morass in the Middle East. China's standard argument to Southeast Asia -- that the U.S. is a distant and unreliable partner -- remains persuasive.