By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2014 – America's rebalance to the
Asia-Pacific region is on track, and U.S. Pacific Command is staying on top of
the growing sophistication of today's weapon systems in what Pacom commander
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III calls “the most militarized region in the
world.”
Locklear briefed the press at the Pentagon this morning on
Pacom’s progress in leading the Defense Department’s rebalance to the
Indo-Asia-Pacific and the United States’ relative dominance in the region with
such systems heading into the 21st century.
“The rapid technological advancement of warfare capabilities
and the proliferation of these capabilities across the globe will challenge us
in the future,” Locklear said.
“We must also ensure that we invest in the proper mix of
defensive and offensive capabilities for our ships,” he added, “… and that the
[ships’] capabilities are both lethal and dominant.”
The security push in the region comes with the growth of
economies and because of the increasing defense requirements of Asia-Pacific
nations.
“They’re buying … 21st-century weapons. They're not the same
weapon systems we dealt with 30 years ago … so it stands to reason that our
relative dominance in those technologies and weapons systems will have
diminished over time,” the admiral said.
“That's not something to be afraid of,” he added. “It's just
something to be pragmatic about.”
Discussing country-by country highlights of ongoing
operations, Locklear began with Pacom’s contribution to the multinational
Operation Damayan, established to help the Philippine government with the
deadly aftermath of November’s supertyphoon Haiyan.
“There was a quick transition in that operation to the armed
forces of the Philippines and ultimately to the government of the Philippines
to be able to continue that recovery,” Locklear said, adding that the operation
“demonstrates the value of working together on [humanitarian
assistance/disaster response] –related training and initiatives so we can
respond more quickly and more effectively” during natural disasters.
Locklear also traveled to Thailand and Vietnam.
In Thailand, which is experiencing political unrest, “it's
important to highlight that the Thai military has responded favorably in
support of their government, a democracy that's working through these
challenges,” Locklear noted.
“In my time talking with the government and the military
leadership, they highlighted their efforts to maintain peaceful democratic
processes and we wish them all the best,” he added.
Locklear’s recent trip to Vietnam was the first visit by a
Pacom commander since last July, when Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and
President Barack Obama met at the White House for the first bilateral meeting.
Afterward they announced the establishment of a new
Comprehensive Partnership to increase trade and commerce, military-to-military
cooperation, multilateral work on issues like disaster relief, and scientific
and educational exchanges.
“We're working closely with the Vietnamese military and
we're looking for opportunities to expand and grow our partnerships, especially
when it comes to humanitarian [and] disaster relief operations,” Locklear said,
adding that the second Pacom-sponsored disaster management center opened in
Vietnam while he was there.
In answer to a question about the December South China Sea
incident in which the U.S. Navy guided-missile ship Cowpens took evasive action
to avoid colliding with Chinese Navy ship Liaoning, Locklear described an
evolving environment.
“As we look at the growing number of navies that are
operating and the growing number of security concerns in this region, we have
to expect militaries are going to have to encounter and operate around each
other,” he said, including the U.S. and Chinese navies.
“This highlights to the [People’s Liberation Army] and the
U.S. military,” the admiral added, “that we have to do better at being able to communicate
with each other in a way that allows us [avoid] a miscalculation that won't be
productive in the security environment.”
Locklear said Pacom has had defense officials in Beijing for
the past two days.
“We have a mechanism in place with the Chinese where we meet
routinely to talk about maritime incidents and how we interact with each
other,” the admiral said, adding that he hopes “we will … continue to learn to
interact and progress in the professional manner that we exhibit toward each
other. This is the best way forward.”
Ultimately, Locklear said, for mutual security, China and
its military must be regional leaders and coexist in its part of the world with
U.S. allies and with U.S. and allied militaries.
“They're going to have to work hard to get through some of
the … territorial disputes they're having with their neighbors. We don't take
sides on the territorial disputes,” the admiral said, “but we do expect them to
be done peacefully.”
In the end, he added, U.S. forces in the Pacific area of
responsibility will operate freely in international waters and international
airspace.
“That's the bottom line,” Locklear stated. “We will operate
there and we'll operate professionally and we'll operate peacefully. That’s the
message to all the militaries that operate in that region.”
In South Asia, India has a critical role in security for a
peaceful Indian Ocean, the admiral said, and the United States welcomes that
role.
The January 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance directs Locklear
“to develop a long-term strategic relationship with India and we're moving in
that direction,” he said.
A cornerstone of that long-term key relationship is to
determine how the countries will partner in areas of similar interests and
capabilities, the admiral said, and how to make this happen despite radically
different procurement systems.
“The Indian government and military recognize their
procurement system is different than our[s] … and we're working through how to
streamline those differences,” Locklear explained, “… so we can move forward
with some of the key technologies and key capabilities we want to develop.”
Elsewhere in the region, Japan and the U.S. soon will have a
defense review to determine elements such as force laydown that will describe
the future alliance, the admiral said, and the nations seem to be moving in a
positive direction on the Futenma Replacement Facility in Okinawa.
In the land domain, he added, DOD is pursuing an initiative
with its Australian partners involving the Marine Corps and the Air Force, and
Pacom is inspecting the shared infrastructure in each alliance country to
ensure it is set for the 21st century.
In response to a question about North Korea and its
threatened use of weapons of mass destruction, the admiral said that nation’s
continued nuclearization and pursuit of missile technologies under the control
of an unpredictable young leader make North Korea a “potentially very
dangerous” place.
“In the end,” Locklear said, “we must demand a total
denuclearization of North Korea. It's in the interest of not only South Korea
and the United States but of all the people in the region. And now it's in the
best interests of everybody in the world.”
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