Vishakha N Desai:

A US citizen born in India, I happened to be there when the tsunami disaster struck, and saw firsthand how the generosity of the American response was received by South Asians. US media attention and outpouring of American support was admirable. But I also encountered wariness about the level of genuine long-term US engagement and leadership in the region.

It was understood that American media stars would leave and America’s attention would waver as other stories, such as the Iraqi elections, dominate the news. Just when the real work of rebuilding must begin, and the emotional devastation will manifest, America will inevitably turn its gaze to the next thing. Or will it? Can the US learn to develop a longer span of attention to life in Asia?

The need for sustained US engagement was apparent to Asians even before the Dec. 26 earthquake triggered the deadly wave. Just prior to the tsunami, I travelled throughout Southeast Asia as the new president of the Asia Society, a US-based international organisation. Across the region, from Thailand and Singapore to Indonesia and Malaysia, I heard one thing loud and clear: Asian regionalism is expanding as never before, while the US sits on the sidelines.

Distracted by terrorism and the Middle East, Washington seems content to watch its influence in Asia decline while China fills the void. The $350 million US commitment to tsunami relief and heroic logistical efforts are historic, though not the world’s largest, and not enough by themselves to transform the emerging politics of the region. Japan pledged $500 million, and other nations’ per capita contributions are much higher than the 12 cents per offered by the US. China pledged $85 million in government aid and dispatched large medical teams and other help. Though compared with Washington, Beijing cannot yet mount massive relief efforts far from its shores; China’s official aid, plus its $45 million in private donations, illustrates its new and strategically powerful commitment to engaging its neighbours.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao personally flew to Jakarta to attend the post-tsunami gathering of ASEAN and proposed an international meeting in Beijing on a permanent tsunami warning system that would look beyond the results of the UN meeting on disaster preparedness in Kobe, Japan. China is consciously showcasing itself in this role. It seems to understand that beyond the amount of its relief pledge, the true test of regional leadership in Asia now will be sustained, proven engagement, demonstrated as much by ongoing interaction as by the flow of aid. Beyond immediate financial help or even physical reconstruction, responding to the disaster’s longer-term cultural, political, spiritual, social, and economical impact requires more than sending money, vital as that is. It requires that US learn about modern Asian life and become engaged, sustaining and developing a stronger focus for empathy.

Let us hope that the tsunami shock will spark this commitment in Americans: To follow and support ongoing efforts at rebuilding sustainable lives for the hundreds of thousands affected, and in the larger context, to recognise America’s obligation to deepen its understanding and engagement with the Asia Pacific region, where more than half of the human race resides. — The Christian Science Monitor