Critics force U.S. to refocus on Pacific<\/p>\n
Richard Halloran looks at how America is responding to Asian
\nconcerns about its waning regional security role.<\/p>\n
For the first time in more than two decades, United States
\nmilitary leaders are contemplating a shift in strategic focus to
\nput more emphasis on the Pacific and eventually to deploy more
\narmed forces to this region.<\/p>\n
Since the end of the war in Vietnam, American strategic
\nattention has been directed primarily towards Europe and the
\nMiddle East. After the Vietnam debacle, the U.S. paid scant
\nattention to Asia and was riveted on Europe, with whom Americans
\nshare culture, tradition and race. More recently, the demise of
\nthe Soviet Union and its Eastern European empire has preoccupied
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
Now, however, the Navy Department has begun to discuss a new
\nlook that would bring more ships, aircraft and marines to the
\nPacific. The leading advocate of this fresh thinking is the new
\nMarine Corps Commandant, General Charles R. Krulak.<\/p>\n
This proposed shift, which has far to go before becoming a
\nreality, is in response to the rising economic, political and
\nmilitary power of Asia. It also suggests that Washington is
\nbeginning to see that the security posture of the U.S. in Asia is
\nflawed by a lack of credibility, as highlighted by regional
\ncritics. More and more Asians have expressed a fear that the
\nYankees are going home and will not be around when trouble
\nstarts.<\/p>\n
General Krulak, who commanded the marines in the Pacific from
\nhis headquarters in Hawaii before going to Washington in July,
\noutlined his ideas in a recent interview in Honolulu. \"Perhaps
\nthe time has come,\" he said, \"to shift some of our assets,\"
\nreferring to Navy and Marine forces, to the Pacific.<\/p>\n
\"As we move toward and into the 21st Century,\" he said, \"I
\nbelieve you're going to see elements of the naval service
\nprobably make just that kind of shift.\" The Navy and Marine Corps
\nare components of the Navy Department within the overall
\nDepartment of Defense.<\/p>\n
In the past five years, however, U.S. armed forces have been
\ncut by about one-third. In Asia and the Pacific, they have
\ndropped to 100,000 people today from about 135,000 in 1990. With
\nthese cuts, General Krulak was asked whether a tilt towards the
\nPacific would be possible. His reply was emphatic: \"Absolutely.\"<\/p>\n
It is too soon to tell what forces might be moved into the
\nPacific but another aircraft carrier, bringing the total to seven
\nin the Pacific, seems a possibility. So too is the possibility of
\nmore amphibious ships and new \"arsenal ships\" armed with guns and
\nmissiles on a platform that would lie low in the water.<\/p>\n
No new deployments of ground forces are currently being
\ndiscussed, nor is it needed in the maritime environment of the
\nAsia-Pacific.<\/p>\n
Another sign of new American interest in this region is the
\nAsia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies being set up in Hawaii
\nby the Pacific Command. Its stated mission: \"To foster
\nunderstanding, cooperation, and study of security-related issues
\nwith military and civilian representatives of the United States
\nand other Asia-Pacific nations.\"<\/p>\n
At the center's inaugural conference last month, a repeated
\ntheme was Asian concern over U.S. commitments to the region. To
\nhelp such concern, General Krulak said that \"one of the things
\nI'm trying to do is to take the Pacific perspective to the Joint
\nStaff.\"<\/p>\n
Much of that perspective comes from a study he had done while
\non duty here. \"It laid out what I thought the Pacific was going
\nto look like in the year 2015,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The commandant has obtained the support for his concept from
\nthe Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral J. M. Boorda. His views
\nwere reflected by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral
\nJoseph Prueher, who was quoted as saying the concept \"is an
\neffort to think about Asia, what we are doing there and whether
\nanything we see requires force structure changes.\"<\/p>\n
Admiral Richard C. Macke, leader of the Pacific Command,
\nemphasized in recent testimony before Congress that \"we need more
\nthan forward presence, we need a forward capability. No
\ndiplomatic note, no political mission, no economic commission
\nconveys the same clear message of enduring commitment.\"<\/p>\n
In response to the Marine and Navy commanders, Secretary of
\nthe Navy John H. Dalton has convened an \"Asia Roundtable\" of
\nmilitary and civilian specialists to deliberate the strategic
\naspects of the proposed shift. The Under Secretary of the Navy,
\nRichard J. Danzig, plans a long trip through Asia in late October
\nand early November, including a stop in Singapore, to educate
\nhimself on the American posture in Asia.<\/p>\n
In the long run, real changes in strategy and force deployment
\nmust be approved by Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and
\nPresident Clinton. Beyond that, key members of Congress must be
\nbrought abroad as Congress would be obliged to provide funds.<\/p>\n
Here enters domestic politics, because bases and armed forces
\nmean jobs in nearby economies. The concept of moving forces from
\nthe Atlantic to the Pacific thus has already generated opposition
\nin Virginia, home of large naval bases on the East Coast.<\/p>\n
On the other side, support can be expected from the West Coast
\nstate of California, which is critical to President Clinton's re-
\nelection in 1996.<\/p>\n
Even so, General Krulak said, \"a stable and growing Asia and
\nIndian Ocean littorals\" are vital to U.S. national interests and
\nrequire visible American forces.<\/p>\n
\"Asians,\" he said in the contemporary language of computers,
\n\"are not going to accept virtual presence.\"<\/p>\n
Richard Halloran, formerly with The York Times as a military
\ncorrespondent in Washington and foreign correspondent in Asia,
\nwrites about Asian security from Honolulu.<\/p>",
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