Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
Perhaps 1998's East Asia Strategy Report issued by the US Department of Defense (DoD) best described the US military position in the region: "The story of US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region is one of continuity, but within that larger context there is change and reaffirmation."
The document said the USA's mission is to "help dampen the sources of instability by maintaining a policy of robust engagement, overseas presence and strengthened alliances, while searching for new opportunities to increase confidence and a spirit of common security".
Two years later, the US military remains committed to security in the Asia-Pacific area. The US DoD intends to maintain troops in the region for the foreseeable future while expanding its security co-operation and military access in South-East Asia. The 100,000 US combat troops include 37,000 US Army soldiers, US Marines and US Air Force personnel stationed in South Korea and Japan, as well as sailors attached to the Seventh Fleet, which includes the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group.
Under the leadership of acting Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russia is stepping up action to revitalise its relationships with North Korea. But, equally, a senior North Korean representative has been invited to visit Washington DC next month.
As Flight International went to press, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov was in the middle of visits to North Korea and Vietnam, a round of protocol likely to cause concern in the West.
According to A National Security Strategy for a New Century, a just-released White House report on US security goals, the US military continues to play a "crucial" role in shaping the international security environment in ways that protect and promote US interests. "Through security assistance and training exercises with allies, US military forces deter aggression, build coalitions and promote regional stability. With countries that are neither staunch friends nor known foes, military co-operation can serve as a positive means of building security relationships today that will contribute to improved relations tomorrow," the White Housereport concludes.
The White House says the US-Japan security alliance "anchors" the US presence in the region, while bilateral treaty alliances with Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand reinforce the USA's continuing security role. The Joint Security Declaration in April 1996 and 1997's revised Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Co-operation spell out the military relationship, including host nation support for US military personnel.
Tensions in Korea
The USA takes a long-term view of its military relationship with South Korea where tensions on the Korean Peninsula "remain the leading threat to peace and stability in East Asia". Some watchers believe that routine provocations demonstrate the resolve of North Korea's Kim Jong-il to reunite the peninsula by force. They justify this by pointing out a number of incidents last year, including a semi-submersible landing craft's attempt to infiltrate the coast of South Korea. Reunification of the Korean Peninsula remains a possibility, but the Pentagon expects it would maintain troops in a re-combined Korea "to contribute to the residual defence needs of Korea and assist in the integration of the two Koreas as appropriate".
US Defense Secretary William Cohen says: "Pyongyang faces an important choice. It can pursue peace and prosperity for its people through co-operation, or it can continue its isolation through confrontation. Whichever choice North Korea makes, the USA and South Korea will be united in facing military threats and pursuing diplomatic opportunities."
Meanwhile, lingering territorial disputes involving Malaysia, Vietnam, The Philippines, China, Brunei and Taiwan over the Spratly Islands, and continuing hostility between India and Pakistan remain concerns.
The USA and Australia reaffirmed their security alliance in 1996, pledging mutual co-operation on regional and global security concerns. More joint training, particularly in the Northern Territory, is envisaged as the two sides continue to work closely together on international peacekeeping and other United Nations operations. Three years ago, 17,000 US and 5,000 Australian troops took part in TANDEM THRUST, a combined US-Australia field training exercise. It was the largest military exercise conducted in Australia since the Second World War. The US Navy also conducts numerous port calls there.
The US DoD says its policy toward China "is principled and pragmatic, expanding our areas of co-operation while dealing forthrightly with our differences." That relationship was strained last May when US aircraft accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, during Operation Allied Force, killing three people, but relations thawed recently.
On 26 January, US and Chinese defence leaders agreed to resume military-to-military relations, and Cohen has accepted an invitation to visit Beijing later this year. Cohen, who last visited China two years ago, says "we are on track to getting military-to-military relations back to a normal state of affairs". The schedule of events for the coming year will include high-level military and professional visits, some confidence-building measures and participation in multi-national events. Adm Dennis Blair, commander of the US Pacific Command, will visit China in the coming months.
On Taiwan, senior US defence officials "made it clear that the USA will continue sale of defensive arms to Taiwan so as to provide-a sufficient defence capability". Last December, the USA completed the sale of two new Northrop Grumman E-2T Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft to Taiwan, in a move opposed by China. Taiwan operates four older-model Hawkeyes. The Chinese Government had demanded that the sale be cancelled, saying the deal was "a gross sign of interference in China's internal affairs and an encroachment of Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity".
South-East Asia
The US Air Force left Clark AB in the Philippines in 1992, but a series of access agreements and other arrangements with South-East Asian partners continue to support US military exercises in the region. For example, in 1998, Singapore opened its Changi Naval Station to US naval combatants, including aircraft carriers. Thailand remains an important refuelling and transit point for possible military operations to neighbouring trouble spots, including the Arabian Gulf. Meanwhile, the USA and the Philippines have signed a Visiting Forces Agreement which permit routine combined exercises and training and ship visits.
USAF Brig Gen William Hodges, director of plans and programmes, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, says closure of Clark AB "did create quite a void in that part of the world. It is a matter of record that we would certainly appreciate access, as needed. You're seeing a better relationship there now, the best they've been in about eight years."
US forces participated in a small ground exercise in The Philippines last year, and additional wargames involving Pacific Air Forces units can be expected. "That's one of the objectives that we see in the next few years, to expand upon the training opportunities. We'd like to be able to exercise our forces at some of the local ranges and excellent training facilities which have not been used for years," Hodges adds.
On the other hand, Hodges does not expect to conduct joint exercises with the PRC's military forces soon, despite warming relations. "We're a long way from being able to do that, actual military exercises, what we call the high-end of the engagement scale. Instead, we'll begin with China where we left off," he says.
Source: Flight International
