The United States is positioning the
bulk of its Air Force and Navy forces as well as its "best and most
advanced equipment" in the Asia-Pacific region in six years despite budget
constraints, US Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said.
In a Pentagon report over the weekend,
Work told a Washington-based think tank that a "geographically dispersed,
operationally resilient [and] politically sustainable" posture is being
sought.
"We may not have as many forces as
we would like, but 60 percent of the forces will be in the Asia-Pacific
region," he said.
The Department of Defense faces doubts
on its commitment to President Obama's foreign policy of rebalancing to the
region. Work lamented budgetary pressures, but insisted that the so-called pivot
remains a "real part of a broader reexamination of our global
posture."
"Regardless of the level of our
budget, that will go forward," he added. "The Asia Pacific rebalance
continues apace."
Key players in the region including US
allies, the Philippines and Japan, have been embroiled for years in potentially
dangerous maritime disputes over the East and South China seas as China stakes
its sweeping claims through the use of civilian vessels, economic activities as
well as reclamation projects.
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Citing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel,
Work said the US' alliances remain the backbone of its posture in the region.
"It is the revitalization of all
those alliances and partnerships that is a signature part of our Asia-Pacific
rebalance and our entire global posture," he said.
Work said that the repositioning of
forces aims to maintain peace and prosperity "in one of the most important
regions in the world."
"Pacific air forces as going to
have our most advanced weapons, to include stealthy, long-range attack missiles
and longer-range air defense missiles," Work said.
The Navy, meanwhile, will have
"long-range anti-ship missile that will allow it to engage ships at
standoff ranges."
Besides the involvement of US navy and
air force, the US army will have "more than 100,000 soldiers when all is
said and done in the Asia-Pacific region," the defense official said.
Army units rotating through Afghanistan
the past years, moreover, are returning along with their equipment, attack
aviation assets such as Apache helicopters to the US Pacific Command.
The region will also see a "more
lethal" Army, particularly in Korea, with new investments in electronic
warfare.
Work said that the Marines are also
distributing four "powerful" air-ground task forces around the
Pacific.
In terms of equipment, Work said the
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will go first to the Pacfic, while the "very
stealthy and highly capable Zumwalt destroyer" will be based in the region
by 2018 as well, he added.
The defense agency is similarly moving
terminal high-altitude defense, or THAAD, and Patriot batteries to key
locations, while the area of Japan will be reinforced with Aegis ballistic
missile defense ships.
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