Obama is scheduled to begin his excursion Nov. 12 with a state visit to Japan, attend the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore and complete the swing with visits to the People's Republic of China and South Korea.

In Tokyo, new Democratic Party of Japan Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio has already signalled changes from decades of conservative and pro-U.S. Liberal Democratic Party predecessors by suggesting an "equal partnership" and the formation of a "East Asian Community."

How the two leaders can resolve the quarrel over whether Japan will fulfill a 2006 LDP- era agreement to build a controversial new airfield in Okinawa for the U.S. Marines opposed by the center-left DPJ and many of its supporters will indicate the flexibility and future of the U.S.-Japan security alliance.

The APEC summit and parallel meetings with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will offer Obama a platform to show how his Democratic administration will differ from his unilateralist predecessor.

Obama needs to outline how his Democratic administration visualizes a sustainable and comprehensive role for the U.S. in a changing Asia that recognizes the reality of the emergence of a closer regional economic and trade community and adapt to Asian interests, judgments and goals.

The president should also and respond to new proposals for regional cooperation ranging from Hatoyama's notion of an "East Asian Community" to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's proposed new "Asia Pacific Community."

Without vigorous engagement, especially through the promotion of inclusive multilateral trade arrangements, Washington could find Asia much less willing to accommodate U.S. commercial, economic, and financial interests and may find that other powers, notably the PRC, are already pushing to fill the vacuum.

Hedging PRC risks

But Obama also must realize that engagement has its risks.

Facing the rise of the Chinese Communist Party-ruled PRC, the Obama administration has displayed a full-scale engagement policy toward Beijing through strengthening channels of communication and dialogue, reaching a preliminary consensus on clean energy initiatives, joint efforts to pressure North Korea back to the six-party talks and joint efforts to fight against global financial crisis.

However, Singaporean "senior minister" Lee Kuan-yew recently cautioned that "China is not ready or willing to assume equal responsibility for managing the international system" and that the U.S. remains "the world's largest economy and market of last resort" for Asia and that the Asian community needs the US to "balance" the PRC.

President Obama needs to affirm that while engaging China into the international system regime is a top priority, hedging the risks that the PRC may become a major source of instability in global economic, political and democratic order is no less important.

However, Obama has rarely touched upon Beijing's continued violation of human rights and rapid expansion of military might since taking office Jan. 20 and Beijing reportedly is pushing for more concessions by pressing Obama to publicly recognize Chinese sovereignty over Tibet, a concession which the PRC regime would likely exploit to bolster its claims over Taiwan or other territories.

Let us remind President Obama that Article One of the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights posits that "all people have the right of self-determination" and that concessions on this principle for the sake of rhetorical promises for cooperation could pull the cornerstone out from hopes for lasting genuine security in Asia and democratic change within China and offer no assured benefit for U.S. long-term core interests.

We urge President Obama to utilize his planned public speech in Shanghai to instead send a clear message to the Chinese people on the need to open up the PRC's authoritarian political system and embrace the universal values of democracy and human rights.

While seeking Beijing's substantive cooperation on climate change and other pressing global issues, Obama should ask the PRC leadership to make "strategic reassurances" to turn away from military expansionism and repression and toward peace-making and democratic opening.

While it is widely believed that Taiwan will not be a focal point of Obama's meeting with PRC State Chairman Hu Jintao, we urge the U.S. president to address the Taiwan issue in a clear manner in line with long-term U.S. interests and democratic principles and avoid taking the recent apparent stability in cross-strait relations for granted.

Besides Beijing's arms build-up and its refusal to abandon the use of military means to annex Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou's KMT administration has made excessive concessions to the PRC which risk Taiwan's substantive independence, economic autonomy and prosperity, international visibility and freedom of democratic choice for our future.

We urge President Obama to clearly express to the Chinese leaders that all issues between the PRC and Taiwan "must be resolved peacefully and with the assent of the people of Taiwan."