American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2014 – In a world where security
challenges do not adhere to political boundaries and economies are linked as
never before, no nation can go it alone and hope to prosper, Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel wrote in an op-ed article published yesterday on the Defense One
website.
“Achieving sustained security and prosperity in the 21st
century requires nations to work together and to meet common challenges with
uncommon unity and purpose,” Hagel added.
The secretary noted that the response of more than 25
nations to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 shows how that
kind of unity is increasingly visible in the Asia-Pacific, which he called one
of the most critical regions for global security and the global economy. And
Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines led to a massive international relief and
recovery effort last fall and produced Japan’s largest overseas military
deployment in the post-war period, Hagel wrote.
“In both cases, nations in the region were able to set aside
rivalries and differences and instead work together,” the secretary wrote. “At
the same time, both cases underscore the reality that nations must engage in
more practical security cooperation ahead of time in order to work together
more effectively when challenges arise.”
Deepening cooperation does not materialize on its own, Hagel
wrote, but requires deliberate and sustained efforts such as those of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, to continue building a
stronger regional security architecture that can address shared challenges.
These efforts have the full support of the United States and
will be highlighted this week in Hawaii, at the first U.S.-hosted gathering of
U.S. and ASEAN defense ministers, Hagel wrote. By hosting this meeting at the
start of his fourth visit to the Asia-Pacific region -- which will include
stops in Japan, China and Mongolia -- it serves to underscore the growing role
ASEAN members are playing in promoting regional stability and enhanced security
cooperation, he added.
The United States also has a key role to play in this
endeavor, the secretary wrote.
“As a leading economic and military power in the Pacific --
one with no disputed territorial claims or ambitions in the region -- the
United States is uniquely positioned to continue to help Asian nations build a
vibrant regional security architecture,” he explained. “My upcoming trip
emphasizes three ways in which the Department of Defense will contribute to
this effort.”
First, the U.S. military will increase its role in
cooperative security efforts and exercises as it continues to shift forces and
operational focus to the Asia-Pacific region, Hagel wrote.
“It has been more than five years since President Barack
Obama came to office determined to lead America’s rebalance toward the
Asia-Pacific, and it remains front and center in our national security
strategy,” he added. “The rebalance has helped to strengthen our alliances and
partnerships in Asia and led to increased engagement, exercises and training on
a bilateral and multilateral basis.”
The deployment of advanced military capabilities to the
region has also proven indispensable, Hagel wrote, noting that the U.S.
contributions to the search for Flight 370 included the world’s most advanced
maritime patrol aircraft -- the P-8A Poseidon -- which was recently deployed to
Japan.
Second, the U.S. military will continue to build new types
of partnerships that tackle nontraditional security challenges more
effectively, the secretary wrote. “The military presence we maintain in the
Pacific -- including approximately 330,000 personnel, 180 ships, 2,000
aircraft, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and five Army brigades -- provides
unparalleled capabilities,” he wrote. “But the kind of nontraditional security
challenges that pose a growing threat to stability in the region, such as
climate change, natural disasters and pandemic disease, cannot be resolved
through military efforts alone.”
Those changes require strong partnerships across military
and civilian agencies and with the private-sector and nongovernmental
organizations, he added, noting that Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S.
Agency for International Development, is leading a session during the
conference in Hawaii.
Even as the United States looks for new ways to tackle
shared challenges, Hagel wrote, the U.S. military will defend its allies and
consistently champion the international laws and norms that have provided the
basis for regional security and prosperity for generations.
“Over the course of 10 days, I will meet with 13 defense
ministers whose nations represent more than 30 percent of the global economy,”
Hagel wrote. “They recognize that there can be no economic growth without
stability and prosperity for their people. Continuing the positive trends in
the region will depend on upholding the principles of free and open commerce,
the rule of law, open access to sea lanes, air, space, and cyberspace, and
resolving conflicts and disputes peacefully.
“As we have recently seen in Ukraine, threats to these
principles are threats to peace and security in the 21st century,” he
continued. “That’s why all nations must commit to resolving disputes
peacefully, without coercion and in accordance with international law.”
For more than 60 years, Hagel wrote, the Asia-Pacific region
has enjoyed relative peace and stability and become an engine for global
progress and prosperity.
“The beneficiaries of this progress have been the people of
the region, and that includes the American people,” he added. “The region has
benefited from American leadership, and it will continue to do so. But
sustaining this progress is not the work of any single nation -- it is a shared
responsibility. And the more nations that embrace this responsibility and
spirit of cooperation, the more confident we can be that Asia in the 21st
century will be defined by security and prosperity for all its people.”
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