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The White House has opted not to replace its top Asia expert, triggering alarm among some allies at a time when the US had been rallying countries behind efforts to counter China.
Kurt Campbell, the Biden administration’s former Asia tsar, was on Tuesday confirmed by the Senate in his new role as deputy secretary of state, giving him a wider foreign affairs remit than the Indo-Pacific.
Several people familiar with the move said the White House would not appoint a replacement for him as Indo-Pacific co-ordinator, a role created in 2021 to sharpen the US focus on China as the “pacing threat” — its priority strategic consideration.
The White House decision not to fill the role comes as US allies are already nervous that Washington’s focus on China risks being diluted by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the 2024 presidential race.
Officials from several US allies and experts familiar with the view from Tokyo to Seoul and Canberra said there was nervousness about losing Campbell given the veteran Asia hand’s extensive diplomacy with ambassadors in Washington.
“Allies in the Indo-Pacific . . . have had extraordinary White House attention and access because of Kurt,” said Dennis Wilder, a former top White House Asia adviser. “Kurt will not be able to sustain this level of attention from the state department and he will have other priorities.”
Campbell was a driving force behind Aukus, the defence pact between the Washington, London and Canberra, which helped Australia obtain nuclear submarines, as well as the revitalisation of the “Quad”, which brought India closer to the US, Japan and Australia.
He was also instrumental in convincing the leaders of Japan and South Korea to move past bitter tensions over Tokyo’s wartime behaviour and attend a historic trilateral summit with the US at Camp David.
President Emmanuel Macron of France was the only non-Asian leader to secure a state visit to the US in the past three years.
Campbell has told diplomats that he would still have capacity to focus on Asia, but some officials are sceptical.
“Given the immediate electoral impact of all the other crises around the world, not having an Indo-Pacific co-ordinator will make it challenging to keep eyes on the pacing threat,” said one foreign official.
One former US official said Japan and South Korea would lose some of the exceptional access they had to Campbell at the White House. But the concerns of these “nervous nellies” about a vacuum and loss of Asia focus in the White House were overblown, the former official said.
A White House official said Campbell would “continue to play a prominent role on the Indo-Pacific” at the state department and that the US had “seasoned teams” working on the issues. She added that Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, had created the role for Campbell — suggesting it was not intended to be permanent.
Some experts said it was less critical to have Campbell at the White House as the administration shifts its focus to implementing his initiatives.
Campbell was also instrumental in helping to persuade European countries to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific despite warnings from China, sparking concern about the message his departure sends to Europe.
“White House leadership on Asia has been indispensable. That’s now lost and is not being replaced,” said Evan Medeiros, former top White House Asia adviser to Barack Obama.
“This is producing huge amounts of anxiety among allies in Asia and Europe. We coaxed Europe into Asia and now we are leaving them at the altar.”
