The prediction that the Pacific would transcend the Atlantic as a "center of gravity of world commerce" has been credited toMarx andEngels.[2]
Though the concept of an American Pacific Century came to be discussed more towards the 21st century, Christopher Capozzola has argued that an American Pacific Centuryalready happened in the 20th century, with the 1898 Americanannexation of the Philippines having led into heavy American involvement in the Pacific region.[3] Mark Borthwick has also argued that the parts of the 19th and 20th centuries were Pacific Centuries of sorts, since thewesternization that took place inPacific Asia at the time paved the way for the region's rise.[4]
The concept of a Pacific Century began to receive greater support in the late 20th century as Pacific Asian economies grew rapidly.[5][6][7] By the late 1970s, the concept of a Pacific Century was used in America to describe a potential economic integration of America'sWest Coast with Japan.[8] The 1989 formation of theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was seen as a significant turning point for the Pacific Rim towards apost–Cold War era,[6] while by 1991, America's transpacific trade had become 1/3rd greater than its transatlantic trade.[9] A consensus began to emerge that Asia would form a significant part of the future and no longer be economically outpaced by America, especially after the2008 financial crisis andGreat Recession.[10]
In 2011,United States Secretary of StateHillary Clinton announced the beginning of "America's Pacific Century" under the ambit of a broader shift in American foreign policy known as thePivot to Asia. Over time, the concept of a Pacific Century has become intertwined with various developments in the broader neighborhood of Asia and theIndo-Pacific, such as the desire of some Indo-Pacific countries tocontain China;[11] America has a history of working against other powers achieving regional dominance in the Pacific stretching back to the 19th century, and so tensions between America and China for dominance in the region have become increasingly relevant.[12] This has led to discussion around a potential "Indo-Pacific Century" instead.[13][14][15]
