Abstract
The United States has approached security relations in Asia as a hub-and-spoke arrangement — with the United States at the center of bilateral ties among nations that, in turn, have limited bilateral, if any, military interactions and security arrangements with each other. U.S. bilateral treaties and security partnerships, backed by capable, forward-stationed and forward-deployed armed forces, remain the indispensable framework for deterring aggression and promoting peaceful development in the region. In recent years, the challenge for U.S. policy in Asia has been convincing Asian nations that we would remain engaged as we drew down our armed forces and brought troops home from other parts of the world. The question now is how the United States will develop and implement security arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region to handle the challenges of the twenty-first century.
We face many challenges to security and peaceful development in the region. Those that affect the armed forces include the following:
- Unresolved wars in Korea, across the Taiwan Strait, and in Kashmir have flared on occasion, but overall have been contained for more than 50 years.
- Major powers — China, India, and Russia — are dissatisfied with their current international status and seek greater roles in regional security. Japan is also defining a new security policy as a new generation comes to power.
- Communal violence driven by separatist movements and historic grievances in places such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands threatens those citizens caught in its path, fosters terrorism, causes the migration of refugees, and creates humanitarian disasters that can lead to international responses, such as in East Timor.
- Transnational concerns, including weapons proliferation, terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, and piracy represent problems that require regional cooperation to address effectively.
Overall, current U.S. security arrangements in Asia provide the capability for U.S. forces to maintain deterrence. The United States can reinforce allies successfully to defeat aggression. This capability maintains peace, allowing time for economic and social developments to build the political foundations needed for enduring peaceful solutions. Even if we succeed in managing the unresolved disputes of the region without conflict, the emergence of dissatisfied major powers will stand in the path of regional security if current attitudes persist. Communal violence and transnational concerns will become an arena for expanding military rivalries rather than the focus for building regional security cooperation.
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