By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Mar. 7, 2014 – Two countries that have long
concerned the United States in terms of national security -- North Korea and
Iran -- are mentioned first in the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, a document
that a senior Defense Department official told reporters this week has a
renewed emphasis on protecting the homeland.
The congressionally mandated review of national defense
strategy establishes priorities for defense spending, assets and a rebalancing
of the military in anticipation of the security challenges the nation is likely
to face in the coming years, all in light of an increasingly tight fiscal
situation.
In explaining the objectives to foreign journalists this
week, Christine E. Wormuth, deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans
and force development, said the United States remains concerned about North
Korea in particular, which she called a “major challenge” for the United States
in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The regime remains very insular and closed, and has engaged
in a series of provocations,” Wormuth said, adding that the United States is
working closely with South Korea to ensure stability on the Korean Peninsula.
“I think we’ve developed, together with [South Korea], a
counter-provocation plan that’s designed to help us coordinate and respond to
potential future provocations more effectively than ever before,” she said.
North Korea tested a long-range missile this week in what
was described as a reaction to annual U.S. and South Korean military exercises.
“I think we feel confident that with the force that we have going forward and
the strategy that we have, that we will be able to meet our responsibilities
with [South Korea] to address threats that we might see from North Korea,”
Wormuth told reporters a day after the missile test.
Wormuth called the U.S. military’s rebalance to the
Asia-Pacific region announced two years ago an important part of the U.S.
strategy and said U.S. officials are paying close attention to China’s military
modernization.
“We would like to see more transparency in terms of Chinese
intentions behind the various elements of its modernization,” she said. China
this week announced plans to increase defense spending by more than 12 percent.
The Quadrennial Defense Review also says the United States
must stay ahead of the ballistic missile threat posed by Iran. To that end,
Wormuth said, the strategy highlights the importance of investing in national
missile defense in light of Iran’s growing capabilities, and added that the
strategy anticipates a lot of continued instability in the Middle East in
general, especially involving ongoing Sunni-Shia tensions and the consequences
of revolutions rooted in the Arab Spring.
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