Who would pay for a global cop?

Lee Kuan Yew had some interesting words to say recently with regard to current events in a piece titled "East Asia and the Bush Victory".

Asia's main concern is security. So strong was the conviction that George W. Bush was the leader to counter the threats from Islamist terrorists, North Korea's nuclear weapons and a possible war with China if Taiwan moves toward independence that Japan's and Australia's prime ministers, Junichiro Koizumi and John Howard, ignored diplomatic niceties and publicly declared, before the election, their strong support for the President. Many other Asian leaders privately shared these views but observed diplomatic reticence. Whatever reservations Muslim leaders in Indonesia and Malaysia had, they knew clearly where President Bush stood on key issues.

The subtext of this is that Asia has outsourced global security to the USA. Is the USA the de facto global cop, bankrolled by Asia? Consider also this statistic gleaned from the Asia Times, December 5, 2004:

The central banks of Japan and China have the world's largest foreign-exchange reserves, and much of this is invested in the Treasury bills that the US Federal Reserve uses to underwrite budget deficits and stabilize the dollar. Combined holdings of government debt by the two countries are believed to amount to at least $1.2 trillion, offering an unparalleled ability to influence internal policies, if they wish.

It is a reasonable inference to conclude that they are satisfied with Bush and with US external policy. In addition, by backing the USA indirectly, China and Japan would avoid attracting the direct ire of radical Islamic militants.