POLITICO: Why Asian trade is a national security issue
David Carden, a partner with law firm Jones Day and former U.S. ambassador to ASEAN; and David Adelman, a partner with the law firm Reed Smith and former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore

“…The provisions in the [Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)] — and the deeper engagement with our friends it will bring — are crucial to protecting the United States from a wide variety of non-traditional security risks. … Such risks include the possible re-emergence of pandemic diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory System, or SARS, which was first discovered in Asia and killed thousands as it spread to three dozen countries. … The trade deal also addresses some non-traditional risks more explicitly. For example, illegal fishing would decline, which would help meet the nutritional needs of the developing world and thus lessen disruptive human migration. The deal also aims to reduce deforestation and illegal animal trafficking, which contribute respectively to the effort to curb climate change and the incidence of zoonotic diseases. … The far ranging benefits of the TPP brings into clear focus the realization that we must do our part to fulfill America’s obligation as a leading citizen of the world” (11/23).