Given rapid economic development of Asian countries and the gradual formation of a new type of cooperation pattern, the United States is afraid to miss the express train of Asia's development and lose its dominance of regional affairs. The U.S. move to "return to Asia" aims to gain more interests from Asia's regional development and cement its dominant position.

President Obama’s conception of soft power has curiously lacked the very quality that has made it most efficacious in the past—the values dimension. His governance has virtually ignored the values dimension of soft power, which goes beyond the tradecraft of diplomacy and multilateral consultation to aggressively assert the ideals of freedom in practical initiatives.

Hallyu or the Korean Wave, which refers to the fast-growing popularity of Korean entertainment and culture through TV dramas, movies, pop music and food around the world, particularly in Japan, China and Southeast Asia, could be a valuable soft-power asset to improve better understanding of Korea and its national brand value.

In addition to public diplomacy, the U.S. government should continue to support the development of software that may make it easier for citizens of countries with repressive regimes to access the Internet without fear of surveillance.

Upon taking office, he... embraced political means like dialogue, respectful multilateralism, and the use of new media, suggesting that he felt the soft power to change minds, build legitimacy, and advance interests was the key element missing from the recent US approach to the world—and that he would quickly remedy that defect.

“The challenges of a changing world and the needs of the American people demand that our foreign policy community -- as Steve Jobs put it -- think different,” Clinton said. “We have to position ourselves to lead in a world where security is shaped in boardrooms and on trading floors, as well as on battlefields,” she said.

As Australia changes, perceptions in the region will catch up, particularly if we improve our public and cultural diplomacy and our international broadcasting. We have to show that we believe projecting Australia in Asian countries is not a waste of time and money.

A strategic turn to the region fits logically into our overall global effort to secure and sustain America's global leadership..."forward-deployed" diplomacy...means continuing to dispatch the full range of our diplomatic assets -- including our highest-ranking officials, our development experts, our interagency teams, and our permanent assets -- to every country and corner of the Asia-Pacific region.