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Pacific Commander: U.S. declines support for Asian allies in sea disputes with increasingly aggressive China | Washington Free Beacon
The United States is not supporting key regional allies and friends currently engaged in maritime and other disputes with China amid growing aggressiveness by Beijing, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific said on Thursday.
Adm. Samuel Locklear III, U.S. Pacific Command commander, told reporters at the Pentagon that Chinas pressure on Southeast and Northeast Asian states is complicated by historical differences and the search for energy and other resources.
The U.S. position is that we dont take sides on territorial disputes, Locklear said. Theres many of those around the globe, not just in the South China Sea. But we do want them resolved peacefully, without coercion, and that we call on all the parties there, including the Chinese, to ensure that as they approach these problems, that they do so in a way that avoids conflict, that avoids miscalculation.
China has stepped up pressure on several allies of the United States in Asia in recent months, including Japan and the Philippines.
A dispute over Japans Senkaku islands, which China is claiming as its territory, triggered riots in China against Japanese interests and soured relations between Tokyo and Beijing. Chinese Gen. Xu Caihou, a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said Sept. 14 that Chinese troops should prepare for possible military combat as anti-Japanese riots broke out in China after Tokyo purchased three Senkaku islets from private owners in a bid to calm the dispute.
The comments by Locklear reflect the Obama administrations policy of leading from behind rather than assertively. That posture has troubled states in Asia that rely on the United States and its naval power to maintain stability, free and open commerce, and transit.
The comments regarding Japan also are unusual because the United States has a mutual defense treaty with Tokyo. However, the administration was slow to invoke the treaty as part of the Japan-China spat.
Concerned by the weak U.S. response, the Senate passed a resolution affirming that an attack on Japan or the Senkakus would be covered by the U.S.-Japan mutual defense treaty.
The Philippines also is locked in a dispute with China over the Spratly islands, which are believed to hold large underwater reserves of oil and gas.
Vietnam, while not a U.S. ally, also is battling Chinese hegemony over fishing waters in the South China Sea that China is claiming.
China triggered alarm throughout the region last week by announcing its maritime patrol ships would begin boarding and searching foreign ships in the South China Sea, including in international waters that China is now claiming as its sovereign territory.
The Obama administration has so far issued no response to the threatening Chinese action to board ships in the sea and analysts say the lack of resolve could undermine the U.S. role as a force for peace and security in the region.
By contrast, the threat to board foreign ships in the South China Sea prompted protests or expressions of concern from India, Philippines, Vietnam, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
A new dispute emerged Thursday between China, India, and Vietnam over oil and gas exploration efforts in the South China Sea. China called on India and Vietnam to halt the efforts. Indias naval chief said Monday that Delhi is prepared to send warships to the sea to protect its exploration efforts.
Locklear, in his comments, voiced worries that the Asia disputes would not be settled peacefully through diplomacy and legal forums and without resorting to coercion or conflict.
And so its important, I think, as we go forward to ensure that all parties remain calm about these things and that we dont unnecessarily introduce warfighting apparatus into these decisions or these discussions, he said, in an apparent reference to a decision by the command not to send additional Navy forces to the region.
Later at a speech to the Asia Society, Locklear said the situation in the South China Sea was not at a crisis point because Chinas lightly armed patrol ships are involved and not warships.
He also played down tensions between Japan and China over the Senkakus saying both countries have kept the dispute at the coast guard level, the Nelson Report stated.
So the USA agrees that when we paint our old warships white and blue coast guard stripes from navy gray now they are peaceful civilian vessels and we can harass Japan, Vietnam and Philippines' ships with them without consequence
The United States is not supporting key regional allies and friends currently engaged in maritime and other disputes with China amid growing aggressiveness by Beijing, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific said on Thursday.
Adm. Samuel Locklear III, U.S. Pacific Command commander, told reporters at the Pentagon that Chinas pressure on Southeast and Northeast Asian states is complicated by historical differences and the search for energy and other resources.
The U.S. position is that we dont take sides on territorial disputes, Locklear said. Theres many of those around the globe, not just in the South China Sea. But we do want them resolved peacefully, without coercion, and that we call on all the parties there, including the Chinese, to ensure that as they approach these problems, that they do so in a way that avoids conflict, that avoids miscalculation.
China has stepped up pressure on several allies of the United States in Asia in recent months, including Japan and the Philippines.
A dispute over Japans Senkaku islands, which China is claiming as its territory, triggered riots in China against Japanese interests and soured relations between Tokyo and Beijing. Chinese Gen. Xu Caihou, a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said Sept. 14 that Chinese troops should prepare for possible military combat as anti-Japanese riots broke out in China after Tokyo purchased three Senkaku islets from private owners in a bid to calm the dispute.
The comments by Locklear reflect the Obama administrations policy of leading from behind rather than assertively. That posture has troubled states in Asia that rely on the United States and its naval power to maintain stability, free and open commerce, and transit.
The comments regarding Japan also are unusual because the United States has a mutual defense treaty with Tokyo. However, the administration was slow to invoke the treaty as part of the Japan-China spat.
Concerned by the weak U.S. response, the Senate passed a resolution affirming that an attack on Japan or the Senkakus would be covered by the U.S.-Japan mutual defense treaty.
The Philippines also is locked in a dispute with China over the Spratly islands, which are believed to hold large underwater reserves of oil and gas.
Vietnam, while not a U.S. ally, also is battling Chinese hegemony over fishing waters in the South China Sea that China is claiming.
China triggered alarm throughout the region last week by announcing its maritime patrol ships would begin boarding and searching foreign ships in the South China Sea, including in international waters that China is now claiming as its sovereign territory.
The Obama administration has so far issued no response to the threatening Chinese action to board ships in the sea and analysts say the lack of resolve could undermine the U.S. role as a force for peace and security in the region.
By contrast, the threat to board foreign ships in the South China Sea prompted protests or expressions of concern from India, Philippines, Vietnam, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
A new dispute emerged Thursday between China, India, and Vietnam over oil and gas exploration efforts in the South China Sea. China called on India and Vietnam to halt the efforts. Indias naval chief said Monday that Delhi is prepared to send warships to the sea to protect its exploration efforts.
Locklear, in his comments, voiced worries that the Asia disputes would not be settled peacefully through diplomacy and legal forums and without resorting to coercion or conflict.
And so its important, I think, as we go forward to ensure that all parties remain calm about these things and that we dont unnecessarily introduce warfighting apparatus into these decisions or these discussions, he said, in an apparent reference to a decision by the command not to send additional Navy forces to the region.
Later at a speech to the Asia Society, Locklear said the situation in the South China Sea was not at a crisis point because Chinas lightly armed patrol ships are involved and not warships.
He also played down tensions between Japan and China over the Senkakus saying both countries have kept the dispute at the coast guard level, the Nelson Report stated.
So the USA agrees that when we paint our old warships white and blue coast guard stripes from navy gray now they are peaceful civilian vessels and we can harass Japan, Vietnam and Philippines' ships with them without consequence
Oh wait, according to the USN commander, China's coast guard is "peaceful" and "civilian."
