U.S., AFRICAN UNION TO LAUNCH AFRICAN CDC

FROM:  U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
African Union and U.S. CDC Partner to Launch African CDC
The African CDC will be a public health institute supporting the whole continent of Africa

Washington, DC –A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) signed today by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, M.B. Ch.B., chairperson of the African Union Commission, formalizes a collaboration between the African Union Commission and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in creating the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC).

“The West African Ebola epidemic reaffirmed the need for a public health institute to support African ministries of health and other health agencies in their efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any disease outbreak,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This memorandum solidifies the commitment by the United States to advance public health across Africa and global health security.”

The need for an African CDC was recognized at the African Union Special Summit on HIV and AIDS, TB, and Malaria in Abuja in July 2013. The concept has since moved through various stages of development, stakeholder review, and approval. The African CDC is slated to launch later this year with the establishment of an African Surveillance and Response Unit, which will include an Emergency Operations Center.

“The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC) will help African countries effectively monitor public health, respond to public health emergencies, address complex health challenges, and build needed capacity,”  Dr. Dlamini-Zuma said.

The African CDC Surveillance and Response Unit will provide technical expertise and response coordination during emergencies. Through the AU Support for Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) mission, the African Union sent over 800 medical volunteers and public health responders to fight the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from September 2014 to February 2015. With the African CDC in place, these volunteers and others can be organized to form a deployable force ready to serve Member States during future health emergency responses on the continent.


About the African Union The African Union spearheads Africa’s development and integration in close collaboration with African Union Member States, the Regional Economic Communities and African citizens. The AU’s vision is to accelerate progress towards an integrated, prosperous and inclusive Africa, at peace with itself, playing a dynamic role in the continental and global arena, effectively driven by an accountable, efficient and responsive Commission

DOD THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY BUILDING RESPONSE TO EBOLA OUTBREAK

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
DoD Threat Reduction Agency Builds Anti-Ebola Capacity
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2014 – The Defense Department agency whose mission is to reduce biological, chemical and other threats to troops worldwide began ramping up its response early in the Ebola outbreak and now, with many partners, is steadily building capabilities in Liberia as it extends capacity into Sierra Leone and Mali.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, known as DTRA, protects the United States and its allies from chemical, biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

The fast-moving nature of West Africa’s Ebola crisis, which so far accounts for 17,145 cases of Ebola virus disease and at least 6,070 deaths, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has driven the need for constant, close collaboration within DTRA itself and among U.S. agencies, entities such as U.S. Africa Command, international organizations and private companies.

One of Many Stakeholders

DTRA Deputy Director Air Force Maj. Gen. John P. Horner recently spoke with DoD News about DTRA’s Ebola response in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, the U.S. lead for Ebola efforts in West Africa.

“DTRA is one of many stakeholders -- we are not necessarily the lead for any of this,” Horner said. “But between our [research, testing, development and evaluation] efforts and providing protective gear, diagnostic capabilities and vaccines, to modeling and analysis and data-sharing capabilities, we’ve made a lot of contributions” with a range of partners.

These include CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department’s Biosecurity Engagement Program, many other U.S. interagency partners, and international partners that include the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders.

Together, DTRA and its partners provide support to Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa and contribute assay development and laboratory services, funding and capacity building to fight this and future deadly outbreaks.

In the Realm of Basic Research

Dr. Ronald K. Hann Jr., director of research and development in the Chemical and Biological Technologies Department, described the process for DTRA’s work on Ebola diagnostic assays.

“Here at DTRA we work in the realm of basic research up through developing prototypes, but we aren't the ones who do the follow-on procurement, life-cycle management or distribution,” he explained.

“We try to anticipate threats in the future and make sure we have resources prepared to meet those threats,” Hann added.

As products progress, DTRA works directly with its DoD acquisition partner, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense in Maryland, or with interagency partners such as the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, part of HHS, and the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID.

“We work in an early discovery role, up through prototypes,” Hann said. “Often we’re looking to answer the question, can I do a certain thing, not necessarily whether it’s the best or cheapest way to do it. Looking to make something more cost efficient or how to mass produce it, those are questions that go on to our interagency partners … who carry the product further.”
Threat Detection and Surveillance

Dr. Richard Schoske, chief of the diagnostic detection and threat surveillance division in the Chemical and Biological Technologies Department, described DTRA’s role in diagnostic development.

As far back as 2010, Schoske said, the agency and its advanced developers funded and developed more than seventy assays to detect 19 different pathogens such as hemorrhagic fever viruses like Ebola and Marburg that are both filoviruses.

The assays received pre-Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Pre-EUA is a step toward EUA, which allows unapproved medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat or prevent serious diseases.

Generally, Schoske said, DTRA provides funding to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, or USAMRIID, and scientists there do further development and present packages of information about the assays to the advanced developer -- the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense.

Then the JPEO-CBD and DTRA’s Cooperative Biological Engagement Program, or CBEP, partners fund the manufacturing, procurement and distribution to analytic laboratories like the ones DTRA is putting in place in Liberia, Schoske said.

“Those are the assays currently being used by laboratories, in West Africa,” he added.

Labs in Sierra Leone, Assessment in Mali

Now, at Sierra Leone’s request and with CBEP funding and DTRA’s international partners, the agency is moving two contractor-staffed diagnostic labs into Sierra Leone and helping build capacity in that country to deal with Ebola and other infectious diseases.

CBEP division chief Dr. Lance Brooks said the labs will go out in stages. One is expected to be ready by the end of December and full operating capability is expected by early January.

Also in the region, DTRA, with CDC and the State Department’s Biosecurity Engagement Program, has sent an assessment team to Mali, the most recent West African country affected by the Ebola epidemic.

Major General Horner said one of DTRA’s most critical capabilities as a combat support agency is “our agility in terms of working with our lawmakers and colleagues at the Pentagon to get money programmed and on a contract in a hurry.”

He added, “As part of [President Barack Obama’s] Global Health Security Agenda we will sustain our efforts and the capabilities we are putting forward into the future as part of our medical countermeasures-biosurveillance effort.”
Dr. Ronald Meris, branch chief for DTRA Technical Reachback, where modeling is performed for Ebola and other infectious diseases, said, “If we could go out on a limb I would say our modeling is showing that the U.S. government response is making a difference in West Africa.”

He added, “I would say the rate of uptick is lower with each bit of interdiction we do to help combat this [outbreak] and build capacity in the countries. So I'm not going to say that it's a good news story yet but I'm saying the response is taking hold.”

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET: U.S.-AUSTRALIA ALLIANCE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE KOREA 

November 10, 2014

FACT SHEET: The U.S.-Australia Alliance

Reinforcing our long history of close cooperation and partnership, President Obama and Prime Minister Abbott today reviewed a series of initiatives to expand and deepen collaboration between the United States and Australia.

Security and Defense Cooperation

The U.S.-Australia alliance is an anchor of peace and stability not only in the Asia-Pacific region but around the world.  The United States and Australia will work together – bilaterally, in regional bodies, and through the UN – to advance peace and security from the coast of Somalia to Afghanistan and to confront international challenges, such as Syria; Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine; and North Korea.

In responding to the threat posed by ISIL and foreign terrorist fighters, the United States and Australia are working together with an international coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL by providing military support to Iraq, cutting off ISIL’s funding, countering its warped ideology, and stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters into its ranks.  The United States and Australia are coordinating closely through the Global Counterterrorism Forum.  Australia supported U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178, which condemns violent extremism and underscores the need to stem support for foreign terrorist fighters, and the two countries will work together toward its implementation.  Additionally, together, we continue to provide critical humanitarian support to the victims of conflict in Syria and Iraq.

In Afghanistan, the United States and Australia have worked to together to enable the Afghan government to provide effective security across the country and develop the new Afghan security forces to ensure Afghanistan can never again become a safe haven for terrorists.  The United States and Afghanistan will continue this close partnership, focused on the development and sustainment of Afghan security forces and institutions, after the combat mission ends in Afghanistan this year and the Resolute Support Mission begins.

The U.S.-Australian Force Posture Agreement, announced by the President and Prime Minister in June and signed in August, deepens our long-standing defense cooperation and the advancement of a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.  While implementing the force posture initiatives jointly announced in 2011, the United States and Australia continuously seek opportunities to strengthen our interoperability, coordination, and cooperation.

As Pacific nations,  the United States and Australia share an abiding interest in peaceful resolution of disputes in the maritime domain; respect for international law and unimpeded lawful commerce; and preserving freedom of navigation and overflight.  Both countries oppose the use of intimidation, coercion, or force to advance territorial or maritime claims in the East and South China Seas.  In their June 2014 joint op-ed, the two leaders called on claimants to clarify and pursue claims in accordance with international law, including the Law of the Sea Convention, and expressed support for the rights of claimants to seek peaceful resolution of disputes through legal mechanisms, including arbitration, under the Convention.  Both countries continue to call for ASEAN and China to reach early agreement on a meaningful Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

The United States and Australia are responding to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and supporting the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to accelerate measureable progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats.

The United States congratulates Australia as it nears the end of its two years on the United Nations Security Council, during which time Australia has been a powerful and important voice on a range of issues relating to international peace and security, especially the ongoing conflict in Syria and the global threat posed by terrorism.

Cooperation for Economic Growth and Prosperity

The United States and Australia share a commitment to deepening further economic ties, including by concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a high-standard, 21st century agreement that will promote economic growth and job creation in both countries and around the region.  In January 2015, the Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement will celebrate ten years of facilitating trade and investment between our two countries, having nearly doubled our goods trade and increased our services trade by more than 122 percent.

The United States remains the largest foreign investor in Australia, accounting for over a quarter of its foreign investment.  The United States and Australia also work closely in multilateral institutions such as APEC to promote sustainable growth and shared prosperity in the region.

A vital aspect of economic growth is promoting greater gender equality.  The United States and Australia are working together to enhance women’s political and economic participation.  As founding members of the Equal Futures Partnership, our two nations continue to collaborate to expand economic opportunities for women and increase women’s participation in leadership positions in politics, civic society, and economic life.

The United States and Australia recognize the threat of climate change, including in the Pacific, and the need to take bold steps to boost clean energy, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and help ensure a successful and ambitious global climate change agreement in Paris next year.  The United States underscored the importance of submitting ambitious post-2020 climate commitments for the new agreement as soon as possible and preferably by the end of March 2015.   Both countries are collaborating with Pacific Island countries to promote sustainable development practices.

The President congratulated Prime Minister Abbott on the preparations for the G20 Summit, and noted he looks forward to the important and vibrant discussions ahead.

Science, Technology, and Innovation

U.S.-Australia science, technology, and innovation cooperation will strengthen our work on cutting edge issues, ranging from neuroscience to clean energy to information technology.  Under the auspices of the U.S.-Australia Science and Technology Agreement, our two countries collaborate on clean energy, marine, and health research.

Through the Ambassador of the United States’ Innovation Roundtables, the United States and Australia are creating an additional platform to leverage U.S.-Australia innovation partnerships and strengthen our interactions in innovative areas and promote a positive, future-oriented vision of our bilateral relationship.

The United States and Australia are two of the founding partners of the new $200 million Global Innovation Fund (GIF), which will invest in social innovations that aim to improve the lives of and opportunities for millions of people in the developing world.

People-to-People Ties

The U.S.-Australia Alliance is based on a long tradition of cooperation at all levels of government, business and civil society.

In partnership with the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia, the United States established the “Alliance 21 Fellowship,” a three-year exchange of senior scholars and policy analysts that will further examine the shared interests and mutual benefits of the U.S.-Australia alliance through research and public engagement.

The United States and Australia form a partnership that is key to the future of both countries and peace and prosperity around the globe.

AG HOLDER'S REMARKS AT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL WINTER MEETING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the National Association of Attorneys General Winter Meeting
Washington, D.C. ~ Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Thank you, Attorney General [J.B.] Van Hollen, for those kind words; for your dedicated service over more than two decades; and for your leadership not only in the great State of Wisconsin, but also as President of the National Association of Attorneys General.

It’s a privilege to take part in this important meeting.  I’d like to thank NAAG’s leadership team and professional staff for bringing us together this week – and inviting me to speak with this distinguished group once again.

Over the past five years, I’ve been privileged to work closely with many of the attorneys general in this room.  Some of us have collaborated on cutting-edge public safety and financial crime initiatives.  Some of us are working together to strengthen our courts and corrections systems – and to find innovative ways to reduce costs and share resources.  And some of us have occasionally found ourselves on opposite sides of an issue.

But despite the differences we’ve encountered from time to time, as attorneys general, we all share the same set of goals.  And we’re striving to fulfill the same responsibilities: by protecting the safety of our fellow citizens and the security of our nation; by safeguarding the civil rights to which everyone in this country is entitled; by preventing and combating violent crime, financial fraud, and threats to the most vulnerable members of society; by improving the effectiveness of our criminal justice systems; and by strengthening collaboration among government, law enforcement, and community partners at every level.

For more than a century, the National Association of Attorneys General has brought America’s leading legal minds together to discuss and advance this work.  Especially in recent years – through sequestration, federal government shutdown, and unprecedented budgetary difficulties – you have shown remarkable leadership in addressing the priorities we share.  And that’s why I’ve made it a priority to participate in this organization’s conferences since I took office just over five years ago: because, at every stage of my career – as a prosecutor, as a judge, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and as Deputy Attorney General – I’ve seen the profound, positive differences that state leaders like you can make.  And I understand the unique roles you play as the chief law enforcement officers in each of your respective jurisdictions.

In so many ways, you and your colleagues are pioneering our broad-based efforts to recalibrate and reform America’s criminal justice systems – to ensure that 21st century challenges can be met with 21st century solutions.  You’re responding to the same realities that are driving Justice Department reforms at the federal level – by working to break the vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration that traps individuals and weakens communities.  And I’m pleased to note that this commitment has, in many places, given way to principled action – and expanded federal-state partnership.

In recent years, no fewer than 17 states – supported by the Department’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative, and led by state officials from both parties – have directed significant funding away from prison construction and toward evidence-based programs and services, like supervision and drug treatment, that are proven to reduce recidivism while improving public safety.  Rather than increasing costs, a new report – funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance – projects that these 17 states will save $4.6 billion over a 10-year period.  And although the full impact of our justice reinvestment policies remains to be seen, it’s clear that these efforts are bearing fruit – and showing significant promise across the country.    
From Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio – to Kentucky, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and far beyond – reinvestment and serious reform are improving public safety and saving precious resources.  And I believe that the changes that have led to these remarkable results should be carefully studied – and emulated.

That’s why, last August – in a speech before the American Bar Association in San Francisco – I announced a new “Smart on Crime” initiative that’s allowing the Justice Department to expand on the innovations that so many states have led; to become both smarter and more efficient when battling crime, and the conditions and choices that breed it; and to develop and implement commonsense reforms to the federal criminal justice system.

Under this initiative, we’re ensuring that stringent mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal, drug-related crimes will now be reserved for the most serious criminals.  We’re taking steps to advance proven reentry policies and diversion programs that can serve as alternatives to incarceration in some cases.  And as we look toward the future of this work, we’ll continue to rely on your leadership – and close engagement – to keep advancing the kinds of data-driven public safety solutions that many of you have championed for decades.

This also means making good on our commitment to provide formerly incarcerated people with fair opportunities to rejoin their communities – and become productive, law-abiding citizens – once their involvement with the criminal justice system is at an end.  With the Justice Department’s strong support, the ABA has done important work in this regard, cataloguing tens of thousands of statutes and regulations that impose unwise collateral consequences – related to housing, employment, and voting – that prevent individuals with past convictions from fully reintegrating into society.  As you know, in April 2011, I asked state attorneys general to undertake similar reviews in your own jurisdictions, and – wherever possible – to mitigate or eliminate unnecessary collateral consequences without decreasing public safety.  I’ve made the same request of high-ranking officials across the federal government.  And moving forward, I’ve directed every component of the Justice Department to lead by example on this issue – by considering whether any proposed rule, regulation, or guidance may present unnecessary barriers to successful reentry.
Two weeks ago, at Georgetown University Law Center, I called upon state leaders and other elected officials to take these efforts even further – by passing clear and consistent reforms to restore voting rights to those who have served their terms in prison or jail, completed their parole or probation, and paid their fines.  I renew this call today – because, like so many other collateral consequences, we’ve seen that the permanent disenfranchisement of those who have paid their debts to society serves no legitimate public safety purpose.  It is purely punitive in nature.  It is counterproductive to our efforts to improve reentry and reduce recidivism.  And it’s well past time that we affirm – as a nation – that the free exercise of our citizens’ most fundamental rights should never be subject to politics, or geography, or the lingering effects of flawed and unjust policies.

I applaud those – like Senator Rand Paul, of Kentucky – who have already shown leadership in helping to address this issue.  And I encourage each of you to consider and take up this fight in your home states.

Of course, I recognize that this reform, and the other changes we seek, will not be easy to achieve.  And none of them will take hold overnight.  I know that, as law enforcement leaders, your work has in many ways never been more complex or more challenging.  And particularly in this time of budgetary uncertainty – when unwise, across-the-board cuts have impacted federal, state, and local programs we depend upon – you and your colleagues need all the support, and all the resources, you can get.

That’s why I will never stop fighting to provide the tools and assistance that state and local law enforcement leaders desperately need.  And I’m pleased to report that the bipartisan funding agreement – recently signed into law by President Obama – will restore essential funding for a number of key law enforcement priorities by returning the Justice Department’s appropriations to pre-sequestration levels.

Already, this legislation has enabled us to lift a Department-wide hiring freeze that had been in place for just over three years – so we can begin to bring on additional federal agents, prosecutors, and other staff to bolster ongoing investigative and enforcement efforts across America.  We anticipate that this agreement will also allow us to further invest in the kinds of place-based, intelligence-driven strategies that many of you have proven as effective; to keep offering assistance to states and localities suffering acute crime challenges; and to continue building upon the outstanding work that attorneys general, district attorneys, states’ attorneys, U.S. Attorneys and others have made possible – despite great adversity – in our ongoing fight against crime, against victimization, and for equal rights and equal justice.

This, after all, is the essential duty to which all of us – as attorneys general – have been sworn: not just to win cases, but to see that justice is done.  This is the cause that brings us together in Washington this week – working to confront the threats and seize the opportunities before us.  And this is the extraordinary task with which the American people have entrusted the leaders in this room – and the challenge that all justice professionals are called to address:  not merely to use our legal system to settle disputes and punish those who have done wrong, but to answer the kinds of fundamental questions – about fairness and equality – that have always determined who we are and who we aspire to be, both as a nation and as a people.

These are the questions that drove President Obama and me to decide, in early 2011, that Justice Department attorneys would no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.  As I’ve said before, this decision was not taken lightly.  Our actions were motivated by the strong belief that all measures that distinguish among people based on their sexual orientation must be subjected to a heightened standard of scrutiny – and, therefore, that this measure was unconstitutional discrimination.  Last summer, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision – United States v. Windsor – striking down the federal government’s ban on recognizing gay and lesbian couples who are legally married.  This marked a critical step forward, and a resounding victory for equal treatment and equal protection under the law.

More recently – and partly in response to the Windsor decision – a number of state attorneys general, including those in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Virginia – and, just last week, Oregon – have reached similar determinations after applying heightened scrutiny to laws in their states concerning same-sex marriage.  

Any decisions – at any level – not to defend individual laws must be exceedingly rare.  They must be reserved only for exceptional circumstances.  And they must never stem merely from policy or political disagreements – hinging instead on firm constitutional grounds.  But in general, I believe we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation.  And we must endeavor – in all of our efforts – to uphold and advance the values that once led our forebears to declare unequivocally that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity.
This bedrock principle is immutable.  It is timeless.  And it goes to the very heart of what this country has always stood for – even though, as centuries of advancement in the cause of civil rights have shown, our understanding of it evolves over time.  As I said just after the Administration’s decision on DOMA was announced, America’s most treasured ideals were not put into action or given the full force of law in a single instant.  On the contrary: our ideals are continually advanced as our justice systems – and our Union – are strengthened; and as social science, human experience, legislation, and judicial decisions expand the circle of those who are entitled to the protections and rights enumerated by the Constitution.

As we gather here in Washington today, I believe that our highest ideals – realized in the form of landmark Supreme Court rulings, from Brown to Zablocki, from Romer to Lawrence, from Loving to Windsor – light a clear path forward.  They have impelled us, in some instances, to extraordinary action.  And the progress we’ve seen has been consistent with the finest traditions of our legal system, the central tenets of our Constitution, and the “fundamental truth” that, as President Obama once said, “when all Americans are treated as equal . . . we are all more free.”  

As we come together this week to renew our commitment to the work we share, to steel our resolve to combat crime – and to pledge our continued fidelity to the values that guide us, and the Constitution we’ve sworn to uphold – we must strive to move our country forward.  We must keep fighting against violence, safeguarding civil rights, and working to bring our justice system in line with our highest ideals.  We must keep refusing to accept a status quo that falls short of that which our Constitution demands – and the American people deserve.  And we must keep standing up and speaking out – no matter the challenges we face – to eradicate victimization and end injustice in all its forms.

This won’t always be easy – and, occasionally, but inevitably, our tactical paths will diverge.  But as long as we are dedicated to working in common cause, determined to disagree with mutual respect, and devoted to our shared pursuit of a more just and more perfect Union – I am confident in where our collective efforts, and your steadfast leadership, will take us.  I know, as this organization proves every day, that vigorous debate need not be subsumed by partisanship.  As attorneys general, we are called to serve.  We are expected to lead.

Thank you, once again, for your work, for your partnership – and for the opportunity to take part in this important dialogue. I look forward to all that we’ll do and achieve together in the critical days ahead.

STATEMENT: U.S.-RUSSIA BILATERAL PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION JOINT REPORT

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden on the U.S.–Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Joint Report

The United States of America and the Russian Federation launched the U.S.–Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission (BPC) four years ago to reaffirm our commitment to cooperation and collaboration based on shared interests.  Since its creation, the Commission has embraced a whole-of-government approach to advance this goal, finding common ground on arms control and international security; fostering closer defense ties; increasing bilateral trade and investment opportunities; countering terrorism and narcotics trafficking; promoting advances in science, technology, and energy; and enhancing people-to-people and cultural ties between our societies.

Today we received from Secretary of State John Kerry the submission of the 2013 BPC Joint Report, which comprehensively highlights the Commission’s accomplishments since Spring 2012.

President Obama encourages the Commission’s working groups to deepen and expand their engagement with Russia in order to remove barriers to trade and investment, increase security, and ensure that advances in science and innovation continue.  By partnering with American and Russian civil society and private enterprise, the Commission’s working groups can have an enduring impact that yields a brighter future for Russians, Americans, and people around the world.

U.S. ADM. LOCKLEAR III WANTS "COLLABORATION, NOT CONFRONTATION"

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, briefs the media on Asia security issues at the Pentagon, Dec. 6, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Pacific Command Seeks Collaboration, not Confrontation
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - The United States would like China to be a constructive influence on the world stage, and the U.S. Pacific Command is stressing cooperation and collaboration, not confrontation, in the region, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said here today.

The admiral, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the command is moving forward on the U.S. move to rebalance forces to the Pacific.

"The rebalance draws on the strengths of the entire U.S. government, including policy, diplomacy, trade and, of course, security," Locklear said during a Pentagon news conference.

The rebalance is not aimed at any one nation or region, the admiral said. The strategy underscores that the United States is and will remain a Pacific power.

Locklear stressed that rebalancing is not so much about equipment or troops -- although they play a part -- but about relationships. Rebalancing to the Pacific came from the defense strategic guidance released in January. Pacom's mission is to strengthen relationships in the region, adjust U.S. military posture and presence, and employ new concepts, capabilities and capacities.

This will "ensure that we continue to effectively and efficiently contribute to the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific as we protect U.S. national interest," the admiral said. "The keys to success will be innovative access agreements, greatly increased exercises, rotational presence increases and efficient force posture initiatives that will maximize the dollars that we are given to spend."

China is increasingly asserting itself in the region, but the admiral said he has good relations with Chinese leaders. China has undergone a power transfer and the Peoples' Liberation Army has new commanders.

There are territorial disputes between China and other nations in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Locklear reiterated the U.S. position on these disputes. He said America does not take sides but does want to see issues resolved peacefully.

"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, that uses the vehicles available today through diplomacy and through those legal forums that allow them to get to reasonable solutions on these without resorting to coercion or conflict," the admiral said.

In addition to asserting what it believes is its role in the region, China has also embarked on an effort to modernize its military. The latest indicator was the landing of a naval variant of the J-15 jet on Beijing's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

"If I were China and I was in the economic position that China is in and I was in a position of where I have to look after my global security interests, I would consider building an aircraft carrier, and I might consider building several aircraft carriers," Locklear said.

It's not so much having such a military capability, but what China does with it that concerns the admiral.

Aircraft carriers have a role in maintaining the peace. "If the issue is that [the Chinese] are not part of that global security environment, then I think we have to be concerned about [Chinese aircraft carriers]," Locklear said.

India is another rising world power and Pacom is working closely with the government there to cement the military relationship between the world's two largest democracies.

"We very much support India taking a leadership in the security issues in and around the Indian Ocean," the admiral said. "We are looking for opportunities to participate and interoperate with them where we can."