Why Asian trade is a national-security issue

President Obama has spent the past few days in the Philippines and Malaysia, working to strengthen alliances in Asia and help build the multilateral organizations that are writing the rules in that dynamic part of the world.

At a time when the American public is focused on national security and the Middle East, it might be surprising for the President to be thinking so much about trade across the Pacific. But the reality is that trade is one of our most crucial ways to guarantee security--and the Pacific Rim trade deal Congress is now considering will be a linchpin of the effort.

The economic centerpiece to America’s Asia policy is the Trans Pacific Partnership, a comprehensive trade and