The United States will move the bulk of its
warships to this part of the world, as it grapples with China's rising military
power and a tightening defence budget.
US
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the US Navy will reposition 60 per cent of
its warships in Asia by 2020, as part of its new military strategy that focuses
on Asia.
This is
up from the current 50 per cent of its fleet that is in this region, including
six aircraft carriers, destroyers, combat ships and submarines. The other half
of the fleet is based in the Atlantic.
Panetta
said the US would also increase the number and size of the training exercises
it conducts alongside its allies in the region.
"Make
no mistake, in a steady, deliberate and sustainable way, the United States
military is rebalancing and is bringing an enhanced capability development to
this vital region," he said.
Panetta
gave these details in a speech to some 350 top military brass and defence
ministers on the second day of the Shangri-La Dialogue yesterday.
This is
the first time that Panetta is elaborating on the new US defence policy
announced in January to "pivot" or "rebalance" towards
Asia, even as he downplayed concerns that the shift would raise tensions with
China.
"We
are not naive about the relationship and neither is China," Panetta said.
"We
both understand the conflicts we have, but we also both understand that there
really is no other alternative but for both of us to engage and to improve our
communications."
Despite
looming defence spending cuts and fiscal uncertainty, the American defence
secretary said the US would be able to implement its new strategy and achieve
its long-term goals, while "still meeting our fiscal
responsibilities".
Part of
the new Asia-focus strategy will be the deployment of the US' latest naval
ships, dubbed the littoral combat ships, to Singapore.
Yesterday,
Singapore announced that it has agreed to the US request to deploy up to four
littoral combat ships to the Republic on a rotational basis from the second
quarter of next year.
The
approval came after Panetta met his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen
yesterday.
One of
the hot button issues discussed yesterday was the territorial dispute in the
South China Sea, involving nations including China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Panetta
urged Asean and China to put in place a mechanism to settle regional disputes
in the hopes of reaching a peaceful resolution to the issue.
"It
is not enough to simply develop a code of conduct," Panetta said in
response to a question from one of the delegates. He was referring to ongoing
talks between China and the 10-member Asean bloc, about how to govern movements
in the disputed waters.
Dr
Chung Min Lee, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University,
said he was sceptical of the impact the American defence secretary's speech
would have on the issue.
"People
will not change their opinions because of this one speech," he said.
"What
the secretary of defence did was that he gave a very comprehensive overview but
most importantly, he was able to tell the region that we (the US) are not
moving out, we are not coming back in, because we never left Asia...
"It's
a clear-cut message that the US will have a large footprint in this
region."
Jermyn
Chow and Ben Nadarajan
The
Straits Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment