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Deeper security, economic ties is next phase of Asia pivot

The United States is opening a new phase of its strategic “rebalance” towards the Asia-Pacific by investing in high-end weapons, refreshing its alliance with regional allies and expanding trade partnerships, said US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Monday, ahead of his visit to the region this week. In a forceful speech delivered at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, Mr Carter spoke of the US’ economic and military powers, and how the US has helped create the stability for the region to prosper. He added that Washington will devote more attention to Asia-Pacific because of its importance to a stable world order and its potential for future trade. Below is an excerpt from his speech.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter at the Arizona State University’s McCain Institute on Monday. Photo: AP

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter at the Arizona State University’s McCain Institute on Monday. Photo: AP

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The United States is opening a new phase of its strategic “rebalance” towards the Asia-Pacific by investing in high-end weapons, refreshing its alliance with regional allies and expanding trade partnerships, said US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Monday, ahead of his visit to the region this week. In a forceful speech delivered at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, Mr Carter spoke of the US’ economic and military powers, and how the US has helped create the stability for the region to prosper. He added that Washington will devote more attention to Asia-Pacific because of its importance to a stable world order and its potential for future trade. Below is an excerpt from his speech.

When I wake up every day, first on my mind are the men and women in uniform, deployed all over the world. But I also think about the defining region for our nation’s future, the Asia-Pacific.

I think about this region for so many reasons, but here are a few data points: Half of humanity will live there by 2050. Even sooner, by 2030, more than half of the global middle class and its accompanying consumption will come from that region. The region is already home to some of the world’s largest militaries, and defence spending there is on the increase. And as countries across the Asia-Pacific grow more powerful ... we expect to see changes in how countries define and pursue their interests and ambitions. In other words, the regional status quo will change. So to secure our enduring interests, and our future that is so closely aligned with the region, we are changing, too, with our so-called rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. I was there with President (Barack) Obama as he announced the strategic shift that was termed the “rebalance” a few years ago.

Today, I want to paint the full picture of this renewed investment in the Pacific. Over the past 70 years, America has not only helped heal the wounds of World War II. We have helped create the stability that has allowed people, economies and countries throughout the Asia-Pacific to make incredible progress.

The rebalance, in a nutshell, is about sustaining this progress and helping the region continue to fulfil its promise.

U.S. ECONOMIC, MILITARY STRENGTHS

America’s policy of building stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific has succeeded over the years because it has been a strong, bipartisan priority through both Democratic and Republican administrations. The rebalance is working because it is rooted in the lessons of history, our enduring interests, widespread support in our country and, especially, our strengths.

America’s strength is built on our economy, and following one of the hardest recessions in recent memory, the US economy has made great gains, in jobs and in GDP. And we are going to continue to make progress because of our dynamic and innovative businesses, our world-leading universities and the energy revolution under way in our country right now. And when you combine America’s economy with just those of our Asia-Pacific allies, together we represent US$25 trillion (S$34 trillion) of economic might. That is a third of the global economy. And as I will emphasise to you a little later, one critical initiative is before us that would reinforce our economic power.

But America’s strength is also manifest in our military ... the finest fighting force the world, and the region, has ever known ... because of the unmatched strength of our capabilities, experience and, above all, our people. Our military maintains world-leading capabilities because we have made incomparable investments over the years.

Since the end of the Cold War, the US and our allies in the region have invested over US$16 trillion in defence. That is almost as much as the rest of the world combined spent since 1990, and about 10 times more than the next highest spending country, which is China. The US spent nearly US$4 trillion since 1990 just on research and procurement alone, developing thereby an unmatched capital stock. And while we face challenges to our technological superiority, it will take decades for anyone to build the kind of military capability the US possesses today.

The American military has also developed unrivalled — and this is important — operational experience, and honed an unparalleled ability to work with interagency and international partners to fuse intelligence and operate jointly among services and support forces with logistics. No other military possesses this kind of skill and agility backed by experience.

And finally, all these strengths are multiplied by America’s unrivalled network of allies and partners, nations both in the region and around the world who seek our friendship not because of our power alone, or through coercion, but because of the gravitational pull of our ideals, values and goodwill.

These ties, tended to with careful diplomacy, are what make America’s global strength so unique throughout history and today.

So in a region where we have enjoyed decades of stability and prosperity, it is human nature for some in the region to take security for granted. But we cannot afford to — and will not — make that mistake. So as Secretary of Defence, I am personally committed to overseeing the next phase of our rebalance, which will deepen and diversify our engagement in the region.

First, we will continue to invest in future capabilities that will be especially relevant to the Asia-Pacific’s complex and dynamic security environment. These include high-end capabilities, such as a new, long-range stealth bomber and a new, long-range anti-ship cruise missile, just to name two ... And areas like rapid runway repair, which may seem mundane, but will help ensure that US forces can survive in a crisis.

We are also working on new weapons like a railgun, which uses electromagnetic forces rather than high explosives to fire rounds at much higher speeds, lower cost and with greater effectiveness. And we are developing new space, electronic warfare and other advanced capabilities, including some surprising ones.

Next, we are now fielding in numbers key capabilities we have developed over the past decade, capabilities that are suited for the Asia-Pacific now and for years to come. We have sent the latest Virginia-class submarine and the Navy’s P-8 surveillance aircraft. We are deploying our most advanced fighters in the region, the F-22 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as our long-range B-2 and B-52 bombers. And given the region’s growing missile threat, we are forward deploying two additional Aegis missile defence-equipped ships.

We will also continue to push our most advanced technology to the Pacific, including, for example, our newest air and naval assets throughout the region, which includes thousands of US and Korean personnel.

bolstering PARTNERSHIPS

Everything I just discussed — the investments, the capabilities and posture — helps us with our fourth line of effort, which is reinforcing the partnerships and alliances that are the bedrock of everything we do in the Asia-Pacific.

That begins with constantly refreshing our long-standing alliances — as we have done since their origin back in the Cold War — to reflect the new strategic environment. When I get to Japan later this week, we will be working to complete a new set of Guidelines on Defence Cooperation to allow us to take our cooperation to a whole new level and into new areas like space and cyberspace. In Korea, I will be working with my counterpart to reinforce deterrence and improve capabilities on the Peninsula to counteract an increasingly dangerous and provocative North Korea.

To expand the reach of our alliances, we are building unprecedented “trilateral” cooperation. In other words, we are networking our relationships. With Japan and Australia, for example, we are cooperating to strengthen maritime security in South-east Asia and explore defence technology cooperation. And with Japan and Korea, we are building on a first-of-its-kind information-sharing arrangement that will help us collectively deter and respond to crises.

We are also establishing new partnerships — brand new partnerships — while deepening others ... especially in South and South-east Asia. This June, I will also return to Singapore for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, and travel on to South-east Asia and India.

The US-India relationship is one of our most exciting and dynamic partnerships. In January, we agreed to an update of our bilateral Defence Framework ... which is the first update in 10 years with this country of growing importance. It will open up new ways to expand the US-India relationship, such as maritime security, and new opportunities to cooperate on high-end technologies.

In South-east Asia, we are enhancing the capabilities of our partners as they step up and play leading roles on a range of challenges. That is why we are partnering with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia to provide them with additional assets for maritime security and disaster relief operations. And why we are helping Singapore develop a regional information sharing and disaster relief hub.

Okay, so what about China? How does it fit into this strategy? Some people would have you believe that China will displace America in the Asia-Pacific. I reject the zero-sum thinking that China’s gain is our loss because there is another scenario in which everyone wins, and it is a continuation of the decades of peace and stability anchored by a strong American role, in which all Asia-Pacific countries continue to rise and prosper, including China. This is the scenario we seek in the ongoing rebalance.

The US and China are not allies, but we do not have to be adversaries. A strong, constructive US-China relationship is essential for global security and prosperity. Our relationship will be complex as we continue to both compete and cooperate. But we also believe there are opportunities to improve understanding and to reduce risk with China, which is why President Obama and President Xi (Jinping) announced two historic confidence-building agreements this past fall. We are working to complete another measure this year that aims to prevent dangerous air-to-air encounters, and there are a wide range of other possible confidence-building measures that I will be strongly working on.

Assuring peace, prosperity and progress as countries across the Asia-Pacific continue to rise will be your generation’s central strategic challenge. The rebalance is helping create the right incentives and conditions to encourage China to play by the rules of a principled international order, one that has helped China, as much as any other nation, rise and prosper.

Know this: A growing Asia-Pacific is an enormous opportunity for you and for the country. That is why we need Congress to pass bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority for the President, so that he can ensure America gets the best deal in a historic, new trade agreement with 11 other Asia-Pacific countries, which is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). TPP is so important because of its enormous promise for jobs and growth across our nation’s economy. It is expected to increase US exports by US$125 billion in the next decade, supporting high-quality jobs.

But TPP also makes strong strategic sense, and it is probably one of the most important parts of the rebalance, and that is why it has won such bipartisan support. In fact, you may not expect to hear this from a Secretary of Defence, but in terms of our rebalance in the broadest sense, passing TPP is as important to me as another aircraft carrier. It would deepen our alliances and partnerships abroad and underscore our lasting commitment to the Asia-Pacific. And it would help us promote a global order that reflects both our interests and our values.

Time’s running out: we already see countries in the region trying to carve up these markets … forging many separate trade agreements in recent years, some based on pressure and special arrangements rather than openness and principle. That risks America’s access to these growing markets, and it risks regional instability.

We must all decide if we are going to let that happen. If we’re going to help boost our exports and our economy, support higher-paying jobs across America, and cement our influence and leadership in the fastest-growing region in the world; or if, instead, we’re going to take ourselves out of the game.

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