» Pentagon Builds Up Forces in Asia-Pacific

Pentagon Builds Up Forces in Asia-Pacific

Filed under:

Asia News

Pentagon Builds Up Forces in Asia-Pacific

An important subtext of Chinese President Hu Jintaos visit to the White House is the growing U.S.-China military competition. As Chinas defense spending surges, the Pentagon is pursuing a strategy of strengthening its forces in the Asia-Pacific region as a hedge against the potential emergence of a hostile China.

The Navy is putting a larger proportion of its submarine fleet in the Pacific, plans to add one aircraft carrier battle group in that region and is outfitting strategic missile submarines with non-nuclear cruise missiles.

The Air Force has been improving its ability to deploy B-2 stealth bombers from Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific; the Marines are shifting some troops to Guam; the Army has talked of moving the headquarters of its I Corps, which focuses on potential conflicts in the Pacific, from Fort Lewis, Wash., to Japan.

The Pentagon has made no secret of its increasing focus on China as a potential threat to stability in Asia and the Pacific, where U.S. alliances with Japan and South Korea have been key underpinnings of the regions economic growth. At the same time the U.S. has been careful not to describe the Chinese as an adversary.

More: washingtonpost.com

Related Travel Information

Rice Says Milosevic One of Most Malign Forces in Europe

Rice Says Milosevic One of Most Malign Forces in Europe U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says history has already given its verdict on Slobodan Milosevic, even though he died before The Hague tribunal could pass judgment. Rice says the former Yugoslav president was one of the most malign forces in Europe. Secretary Rice says it might have been better if The Hague tribunal had been able to render a judgment on Slobodan Milosevic. But, she says, the final verdict of history is already clear, that the former Yugoslav president was one of the most malign forces in Europe for quite

Bush in South Asia — Raising a political storm

Bush in South Asia — Raising a political storm As the US President moved from Afghanistan to India and then Pakistan, he raised political storm clouds. If India was obsessed with the nuclear deal, Pakistan wanted similar treatment and Afghanistan worried about the resurgence of Taliban. G. PARTHASARATHY reviews the Bush tour. Never before has the visit of an American President to South Asia created such a political storm as the recent visit of Mr George W. Bush to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. India remained obsessed with whether or not the "nuclear deal" would move forward. Pakistan persisted with its insistence

US to remain engaged in Asia

US to remain engaged in Asia The United States is stepping up its military engagement in the Asia-Pacific region to counter-balance the rise of China, and to confront the threat from terrorism, analysts said on Monday. As the centre of geopolitical gravity shifts from Europe to Asia, Washington is reviewing its security alliances with key Asian partners including Japan, South Korea and Australia, and forging new ties with India and other emerging powers. “What has been clearly seen out of these reviews is that America is not retreating,” said General Paul V Hester, Hawaii-based commander of US Pacific Air Forces. “America is not

Alameda-Based Cutter Heading To Southeast Asia

Alameda-Based Cutter Heading To Southeast Asia An Alameda-based U.S. Coast Guard cutter will leave for Southeast Asia Monday morning to participate in a series of international training exercises with the goal of fostering cooperation between the navies and Coast Guard forces of each participating nation. Hosted by Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training focuses on improving combat-oriented operational interoperability among the participating forces, according to the Coast Guard. The separately established South East Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism program concentrates on improving maritime security skills and was initiated in 2002 in an effort to combat

Asia news in brief

Asia news in brief Police special forces pulled people from cars and beat them Saturday, two days after a mob bludgeoned to death four of their security colleagues during a protest to demand the shutdown of a U.S.-owned gold mine in eastern Indonesia. The mob killed three police officers and an air force officer during the protest Thursday in Jayapura. Police have arrested 12 people. Protesters complain that the mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan has earned the New Orleans-based company billions of dollars but that the local community has received little benefit. More: mercurynews.com

Asia News