One of the incorrigible habits of being the world's only superpower is believing that the world revolves completely around you. American foreign-policy makers assume that the center of the world is Washington, DC-because it's been that way for so long. And, in some ways, nothing has changed. The shift from the G-8 to the G-20, for example, actually enhances American influence at the expense of the Europeans .

Sometimes, however, the world really does change. When Barack Obama heads to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting in Singapore this week, he will be encountering a region that has simply bypassed Washington. Last month the East Asia Summit convened to debate the future of East Asian integration. The meeting highlighted two salient facts about the region. First, contrary to perceptions, the Asia/Pacific region has witnessed the most fervent e...