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Analysts say if Hillary Clinton becomes US president, she will pursue the US pivot to Asia, a policy whose execution weakened in President Barack Obama's second term

MANILA, Philippines With Hillary Clinton expected to announce her presidential candidacy in 2015, what will it mean for Asia-Pacific, a region she focused on as Americas top diplomat?

The Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said a potential Clinton presidency will make headway in pursuing the US "pivot" or rebalancing to Asia, seen to have weakened in President Barack Obamas second term.

CSIS senior adviser Ernest Bower told Rappler that the former US Secretary of State will likely deepen Americas engagement in regional issues like the South China Sea dispute between China and Southeast Asian states.

DEEPER ENGAGEMENT. Analysts say if Hillary Clinton succeeds Obama, she will push for deeper engagement with the Asia-Pacific. File photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images North America/AFP

I think Clinton would be more willing than Obama has been to spend political capital in the US explaining to Americans why Asia is important to them. Spending political capital domestically in the US is absolutely an essential down payment for a more engaged foreign policy, a true follow through, if you will, on this pivot or rebalance, Bower told Rappler in an interview in Washington DC.

US media outlets including the Washington Post reported this week that Clinton will likely postpone declaring her presidential bid from January 2015 to sometime after March.

Even before the announcement, the former New York senator and first lady is widely presumed to be the runaway frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to succeed Obama in 2016.

Bower said that if elected, Clinton will do what Obama has not spent much time on: convincing the American public to support US investment in Asia at a time the world faces multiple crises including renewed terrorism in the Middle East.

The CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies added that while Obama talks about Asias importance in his trips to the regions capitals, he hasnt done it in Ohio or Dallas, Texas, or Sacramento, California.

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