Reaffirming U.S. commitment to Asia

Reaffirming U.S. commitment to Asia

By Ralph A. Cossa

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): The recently completed U.S Defense
Department's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) has once again
confirmed the importance of the presence of U.S. forces in Asia
to America's global security strategy.

That strategy, as outlined in the QDR, has three main
elements: to shape the international environment by promoting
stability, preventing conflict, and deterring aggression; to
respond quickly to a full spectrum of crises; and to prepare to
meet the security challenges of an unpredictable future.

According to U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen, the
continued deployment of around 100,000 U.S. forces in Asia is
critical to achieving all three tasks.

Cohen recently provided an overview of the QDR at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington to
members of an international working group on confidence and
security building measures (CSBM) organized by the multinational,
non-governmental Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia
Pacific (CSCAP).

Cohen assured the working group participants from 16 Asia-
Pacific nations that the Pentagon's focused modernization effort
to meet tomorrow's challenges would not be undertaken at the
expense of continued American engagement in Asia today and in the
future. The U.S. benefits from this presence, he said, as do all
nations in the region.

Acknowledging the presence of CSCAP representatives from North
Korea, Cohen said the U.S. military sees itself as a force for
peace and stability on the Peninsula, even though it remains
prepared to deal with undesirable contingencies if the current
momentum toward peaceful dialog is not sustained.

Cohen, in response to a question about the QDR's impact on
Asia, said the modest additional force cuts proposed in the QDR
(from 1.42 million to 1.36 million active duty military
personnel) would have little impact on the forces deployed to
Asia or on America's ability to respond to crises in Asia or
elsewhere.

While the bulk of U.S. forces in Asia are concentrated in
Northeast Asia, Cohen noted the importance of Southeast Asia
today and in the future. He highly praised the positive,
productive, and steadily improving military relations the U.S.
enjoys with Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries in the
region.

As a U.S. Senator, Cohen is among the best informed of his
colleagues on Southeast Asia and has frequently visited the
region. He has clearly carried that appreciation of Southeast
Asia with him to the Pentagon.

This is not expected to be translated into a U.S. quest for
new bases in Southeast Asia; the current strategy of "places not
bases" -- i.e., of enhanced access, greater cooperation, and
periodic deployments and visits versus more fixed facilities --
is likely to be sustained.

But ASEAN nations should receive greater recognition and
appreciation for their collective role as a stabilizing political
as well as an economic force, and greater defense cooperation
between the U.S. and individual ASEAN states should enjoy a
higher priority during Cohen's tenure as Secretary of Defense.

Secretary Cohen also stressed the continued importance of the
U.S.-Japan relationship as the foundation of the U.S. presence in
Asia and pledged to continue to build upon this vital
relationship.

Noting the presence of Chinese military officers participating
in the CSCAP meeting, he said China had also benefited from the
stability provided by the U.S.-Japan alliance and the presence of
U.S. forces in Japan and elsewhere. (As a so-called "track two"
non-governmental organization, CSCAP encourages the participation
of government -- including active duty military -- officials in
its meetings, "in their private capacities".)

Cohen's decision to discuss confidence building measures in
presenting his views on the QDR to an international audience at
the CSCAP meeting is also significant. In addition to
underscoring his personal interest in Asia, it also signals a
continued defense department commitment to both official and non-
governmental multilateral security dialog, as a useful complement
to America's bilateral defense arrangements.

This commitment was further reinforced by the Pentagon's top
Asia policy maker, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia, Dr.
Kurt Campbell, during his keynote address to the CSCAP General
Membership Meeting in Singapore on June 4. Campbell highlighted
improved relations with Southeast Asia, and increased involvement
in support for multilateral security dialog initiatives as two
primary defense department objectives.

Concerns had been expressed in many quarters in Asia that the
QDR would result in a weakened U.S. commitment and reduce the
presence of U.S. forces in Asia. Instead, the QDR in general and
Secretary Cohen in particular have reemphasized the growing
importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the U.S. and the U.S.
intention to remain fully engaged in Asia today, even as it
refocuses its efforts to better prepare for the challenges of the
21st Century.

The writer is Executive Director of the Pacific Forum CSIS, a
Honolulu-based, nonprofit research institute affiliated with the
Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He
co-chairs the CSCAP CSBM Working Group. The Pacific Forum is a
founding member.