BRISBANE - President Barack Obama sought on Saturday to reassure Asia-Pacific allies about Washington's strategic shift toward the region as he sent a veiled message to a rising China with a vow to "deepen our engagement using every element of our power."
Speaking in Australia on the final stop of a three-country regional tour, Obama insisted that Asia's security order must not be based on "coercion or intimidation ... where big nations bully the small, but on alliances for mutual security."
Although Obama did not explicitly point the finger at China, there was little doubt that he was alluding to Beijing's maritime disputes with its neighbors and growing concern in the region about its military build-up.
"No one should ever question our resolve or our commitments to our allies," Obama said in a policy speech at Queensland University in Brisbane, where he is attending a G20 summit.