U.S. Defense Chief Seeks to Calm Asia Allies
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in his first visit to Asia as Pentagon chief, said he would seek to reassure anxious allies that budget cuts at home won't derail plans to expand the U.S. military presence in the region.
China's rapid military buildup and cyber activities targeting U.S. networks and defense systems have stoked tensions with the Obama administration ahead of a summit between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in California June 7 and 8. Mr. Hagel said he would use talks this weekend in Singapore and a meeting next week at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels to press─mainly in private─for common standards to reduce the cyberthreat.
To reassure Asian allies, the Pentagon intends to protect key deployments in the region from the spending cuts, including plans to increase the number of U.S. Marines at a base in Darwin, Australia, from 250 now to as many as 1,100 by next summer and as many as 2,500 in a few years, pending agreement with the Australian government, according to defense officials.
'Every measurement of our commitment to that 'rebalance' we're carrying forward,' Mr. Hagel said during a flight to Singapore, where he will attend a security conference and meet with Asian allies, including the Japanese and Korean defense ministers. Mr. Hagel will also have informal talks with a Chinese military delegation at the conference.
Regional concerns about China's rising military power and aggressive stance in disputed waters such as the South China Sea have prompted the U.S. to shore up defense ties with old allies while building closer military relations with new partners, including Vietnam.
The Obama administration is also increasingly concerned about a rise in cyberattacks which U.S. officials have linked to the Chinese military.
Mr. Hagel said the U.S. has been trying to improve military-to-military relations with China. In addition to meeting with the Chinese delegation on the sidelines of the Singapore conference, Mr. Hagel told reporters he has invited China's defense minister to visit Washington in August.
While he plans to continue to raise the cyber issue publicly, Mr. Hagel said his focus was on trying to address U.S. concerns with the Chinese behind closed doors. 'I've rarely seen that public engagement resolves a problem,' Mr. Hagel said.
Across-the-board cuts have already affected some U.S. military operations, including naval deployments, fueling allies' doubts about the U.S.'s commitment to follow through with the rebalancing to Asia.
'It's a very legitimate question that all of our allies and our partners have and should have,' Mr. Hagel said of the impact of the budget cuts, known as sequestration, on the rebalancing. 'We're on track,' he said.
Many regional allies in Asia want the U.S.'s backing but also don't want to provoke China, and they aren't sure Washington can counter Beijing's rapid military modernization because of America's fiscal constraints.
Some military strategists say doubts about Washington's ability to defend allies in Asia could encourage countries to conclude that it is in their best interest to cooperate more with China.
While seeking to assure allies, Mr. Hagel doesn't want a flare-up in tensions with Beijing ahead of next week's California summit.
A centerpiece of Mr. Hagel's trip will be a speech Saturday at the Singapore conference in which he will describe what the U.S. is doing to pivot to Asia. But he isn't expected to announce any new initiatives.
In addition to increasing deployments to the Darwin base, the U.S. is moving forward with plans to deploy up to four littoral combat ships, advanced warships designed for coastal operations, to Singapore on a rotational basis, meaning the vessels won't have a permanent base in the city-state.
The first littoral combat ship, the USS Freedom, arrived in Singapore in April. Mr. Hagel will visit the Freedom on Sunday. A second littoral combat ship could be deployed to Southeast Asia within the next 20 months.
The U.S. also plans to increase the number of Marines at bases in Okinawa, Japan, in the near term before relocating them to Guam. As the Marines are pulled out of Afghanistan, the number of forces of forces on Okinawa will rise, from about 15,000 to 19,000, officials say.
As part of the pivot, and to defend U.S. forces against North Korean rockets, the U.S. has expanded missile defenses in the region.
ADAM ENTOUS
美國防部長試圖安撫亞洲盟國
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次以五角大樓負責人身份出訪亞洲的美國防部長哈格爾(Chuck Hagel)說﹐他會試圖安撫焦慮的盟友﹐即美國國內預算削減不會干擾美軍在該地區擴大軍事存在的計劃。在 6月7日和8日中國國家主席習近平和美國總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)在加州舉行峰會前﹐中國加快軍隊建設以及針對美國網絡和國防系統的網絡攻擊給中美兩國政府間本已緊張的關係火上澆油。哈格爾說﹐他將利用本週 末在新加坡的多場談話和下週在布魯塞爾舉行的北大西洋公約組織(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)的會議向有關方面施壓（主要在私下）﹐要求有關國家接受共同標準以減少網絡威脅。
美國防部官員說﹐為了安撫亞 洲盟國﹐五角大樓打算不讓美軍在該地區的關鍵部署受到開支削減的影響。其中包括到明年夏天時﹐將駐澳大利亞達爾文一個基地的美國海軍陸戰隊人數從目前的 250人上升到1,100人的計劃﹐並在此後幾年擴充到最多2,500人﹐具體取決於同澳大利亞政府達成的協議。
哈格爾在飛往新加坡期間說﹐無論從哪個方面衡量﹐我們對“再平衡”的承諾都取得了進展。哈格爾到新加坡是參加一個安全會議﹐還會同亞洲盟友會面﹐其中包括日本和韓國的國防部長。哈格爾在會議上還會同中國一個軍事代表團進行非正式會談。
中國不斷上升的軍事實力以及在南中國海（中國稱南海）等爭議水域表現出的強有力立場令該地區國家擔憂﹐這促使美國在加強同老盟友的防務聯繫的同時﹐也積極與越南等新合作伙伴構建更為密切的軍事聯繫。
奧巴馬政府對網絡攻擊數量上升的擔憂日漸加大﹐美國官員將這些網絡攻擊同中國軍方聯繫起來。
哈格爾說﹐美國一直試圖改善美國與中國的軍事關係。除了在新加坡參加會議的間隙同中國代表團進行會晤外﹐哈格爾告訴記者﹐他已邀請中國國防部長今年8月訪問華盛頓。
儘管哈格爾打算再次公開提出網絡安全的問題﹐哈格爾說﹐他的重點是秘密地與中國解決美國的擔憂。哈格爾說﹐我很少看到過通過公開接觸解決問題的情況。
全盤削減開支已經影響到了美國的一些軍事行動﹐包括海軍部署﹐這加劇了盟國對美國是否繼續致力於在亞洲實施“再平衡”戰略的懷疑。
哈格爾提到了預算削減﹐即國防開支大封存(sequestration)﹐對“再平衡”戰略的影響。哈格爾說﹐這是我們的所有盟友和合作伙伴都應該有的一個合情合理的疑問。我們仍處在正確的軌道上。
許多亞洲的地區盟友想要以美國為後盾﹐但是同時也不想激怒中國。由於美國的財政限制﹐他們不確定美國是否有能力制衡中國迅速的軍事現代化。
一些軍事戰略家說﹐對華盛頓是否有能力保護亞洲盟友的懷疑可能會促使一些國家得出這樣的結論﹐即與中國開展更多合作才符合他們的最大利益。
在試圖安撫盟友的同時﹐哈格爾並不想在下週加州召開的峰會之前加劇與中國的緊張關係。
哈格爾此行的焦點將是週六在新加坡會議上的一次演講﹐在演講中﹐他將說明美國正在採取何種行動重返亞洲。但是預計他將不會宣佈任何新的計劃。
除了在達爾文皇家空軍基地(RAAF Base Darwin)增加部署﹐美國正在推進交替向新加坡部署最多四艘瀕海戰鬥艦的計劃。瀕海戰鬥艦是專為近海軍事行動設計的先進戰艦。這意味著這些戰艦不會在這個城市國際擁有永久基地。
第一艘瀕海戰鬥艦USS Freedom已經於4月抵達新加坡。哈格爾週日將考察這艘戰艦。第二艘瀕海戰鬥艦可能在未來20個月內部署到東南亞。
美國還打算近期在日本沖繩軍事基地增加海軍陸戰隊成員﹐然後再將其轉移到關島。官員們說﹐隨著海軍陸戰隊成員撤出阿富汗﹐沖繩的海軍陸戰隊成員數量將會從大約1.5萬增加到1.9萬。
作為重返亞洲戰略的一部分﹐同時為了保護美國軍隊不受朝鮮火箭的威脅﹐美國已經擴大了在該地區的導彈防御系統。
ADAM ENTOUS
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