U.S. CONTINUES SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 370 WITH TOWED PINGER LOCATOR 25

FROM:   U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Navy Prepares Black Box Locator for Flight 370 Search
From a U.S. 7th Fleet News Release

PHILIPPINE SEA, March 24, 2014 – U.S. Pacific Command has ordered U.S. Pacific Fleet to move a black box locator into the region where searchers are continuing efforts to locate Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared March 8 shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bound for Beijing.
Officials said the order is a precautionary measure in case a debris field is located.

If a debris field is confirmed, officials added, the Navy's Towed Pinger Locator 25 will add a significant advantage in locating the missing aircraft's black box.
"In the event a debris field is located, we're moving some specialized locator equipment into the area,” said Navy Cmdr. Chris Budde, U.S. 7th Fleet operations officer. “The Towed Pinger Locator has some highly sensitive listening capability so that if the wreck site is located, we can hear the black box pinger down to a depth of about 20,000 feet. Basically, this super-sensitive hydrophone gets towed behind a commercial vessel very slowly and listens for black box pings.
"This movement is simply a prudent effort to pre-position equipment and trained personnel closer to the search area,” he continued, “so that if debris is found, we will be able to respond as quickly as possible, since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited."

If found, the acoustic signal of the pinger is transmitted up the cable and is presented audibly, and can be output to either an oscilloscope or a signal processing computer, 7th Fleet officials explained. The operator monitors the greatest signal strength and records the navigation coordinates. This procedure is repeated on multiple track lines until the final position is triangulated.

EXERCISE COBRA GOLD 2013 GETS UNDERWAY

130114-N-HI414-122 SASEBO, Japan (Jan. 14, 2013) The Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) is underway alongside the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during a sea and anchor evolution. Tortuga is underway in preparation for an amphibious integration training and certification exercise and will participate in the annual multinational joint training exercise Cobra Gold. Tortuga is part of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gregory A. Harden II/Released)

 
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Exercise Cobra Gold 2013 Kicks Off in Thailand
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2013 - The commander of U.S. Pacific Command kicked off the longest-running U.S. military exercise in the Pacific in Thailand today, calling the 13,000 multinational participants guardians of future peace and prosperity.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III marked the opening of the 32st iteration of Cobra Gold hosted by Thailand and the United States since 1980.

Cobra Gold began as a bilateral U.S.-Thai exercise, but expanded more than a decade ago to include other regional partners to advance their common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region, officials said.

Cobra Gold 2013, which runs through Feb. 21, brings together the militaries of United States, Thailand and five other Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Twenty additional nations have sent observers, including, for the first time, Burma.

"Whether you are a participant or an observer, or whether you have been here for 32 years or this is your first year, your being here demonstrates your country's resolve to peace and stability in this region and in the world," Locklear said at the opening ceremonies. "It is critical to building our multinational coordination, our interoperability with all of our partners in the region and to allow us to collectively respond to crises and protect the peace and prosperity of all our people."

This year's exercise will be demanding, as it prepares participants "for a broad spectrum of challenges we are going to face together," the admiral said. The ambitious training schedule includes a staff exercise, senior leader engagements and "humanitarian and civic projects we will do together, field training we will do together, [and] live-fire events we will do together," he said.

Highlights will include an amphibious assault demonstration that includes attack jets, helicopters, landing craft and small boats; small-boat and helicopter raids; a multilateral noncombatant evacuation operation; a combined arms live-fire exercise; and jungle warfare and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training.

All are designed, Locklear said, to "replicate the dynamic environment we find ourselves in today and [expect] in the future." He challenged the participants to take advantage of the training opportunities at Cobra Gold to build the bonds and capabilities that ensure they will be prepared.

"Working together, we will meet the challenges and forge a brighter future for the region and the world," he said.

Marines with 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Aircraft Group 36, arrived in Thailand last week to partner with Royal Thai Marines to build a schoolhouse at Ban Nam Chiao Elementary School in Lam Ngob district. Another civic project planned during the exercise is construction of a one-story multipurpose building for the Baan Hua Wang Krang School in Thailand's Muang district.

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."

U.S. WAITS AND WATCHES FOR NORTH KOREAN ROCKET LAUNCH

Map:  North Korea.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Monitors Possible North Korean Rocket Launch
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - U.S. Pacific Command has moved ships into place to monitor a possible North Korean rocket launch, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said here today.

North Korean officials have threatened to launch a satellite-tipped rocket into space sometime this month. Locklear, Pacom's commander, said such a move would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"We encourage the leadership in North Korea to consider what they are doing here and the implications on the overall security environment on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in Asia," Locklear said during a Pentagon news conference.

The move would be similar to what the nation would do to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea has been pursuing nuclear technology in defiance of the international community and has claimed to have carried out several tests of nuclear devices. Launching the rocket could show that North Korea has a delivery system for a nuclear weapon.

"And this ... would be very destabilizing ... not only to the region but to the international security environment," Locklear said.

The possible rocket launch would counter what has been a series of positive steps North Korea has made.

"There have been ... a number of signs that might lead you to believe that the new regime leadership is going to take a more ... rational approach to how they deal with their own economy and how they deal with their own people, and how they deal internationally," Locklear said. "There's been a feeling that there might be some hope there."

Locklear's priority -- like that of all U.S. commanders -- is the defense of the United States. As such, he is watching North Korean preparations carefully and talking with friends and allies in the region.

The command has moved U.S. Navy ships in place to achieve optimal monitoring of the threatened launch. This is also important because Pacom has a homeland defense mission for Guam, the Marianas islands and other states in Oceana.

U.S. PACOM COMMANDER RETURNS FROM VISITING FRIENDS



Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, with Thailand's Chief of Defense Force Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn in Bangkok, Oct. 15, 2012. U.S. Pacific Command photo by Army Staff Sgt. Carl N. Hudson

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Partners Encourage Pacom Commander

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2012 - Upon returning to U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii after visiting three Asia-Pacific nations, the top U.S. commander in the region said he's encouraged by their willingness to partner more closely with the United States in what he called a foundation of the U.S. strategy there.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III has returned to Camp H.M. Smith after visiting senior officials in Bangladesh, India and Thailand. During every engagement, the admiral explained why, as it draws down its forces in Afghanistan, the United States is increasingly turning its attention to the Asia-Pacific.

Locklear recognized the region's large populations, large militaries and new and growing economic powerhouses during an Oct. 16 discussion with reporters in Bangkok.

The relative peace the region has enjoyed for almost seven decades has enabled national economies to prosper, he noted. "The goal is to continue that," he said, promoting security and stability through enhanced regional cooperation.

It's a whole-of-government approach, he said, that includes not just military, but also includes economic, diplomatic and information initiatives.

"The end state, we hope, is a continuation of a collective security environment where all nations are able to participate," Locklear said. He cited the range of operations that could include countering terrorism, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, stemming the flow of transnational threats such as drugs and human trafficking, and enhancing cybersecurity, among others.

Ultimately, Locklear said, U.S. rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region involves "building partnerships and ability to work together on these security issues that will impact the region in the future."

That begins with the historic U.S. allies in the region, including Thailand, he said.

During his visit there, Locklear met with Chief of Defense Force Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn, Permanent Secretary for Defense Thanongsak Apirakyothin and other leaders to discuss ways to strengthen the U.S.-Thailand military-to-military relationship.

But the rebalance also involves building capacity among new regional partners and encouraging others to forge new relationships with the United States, he said.

Asked by a reporter, Locklear said he hopes these relationships are seen as "productive, in the eyes of China" and that Chinese leaders recognize that the U.S. rebalance is not meant to threaten or exclude China or any other country.

"This is not about a single nation," the admiral said. "It is about this issue of: How do you foresee a future were you have all countries participating in a security environment that leads to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. And you can't leave any one country out of that."

Locklear underscored the point. "The importance of the rebalance is looking at, How do you bring everyone, including China, into a security relationship that allows peace and prosperity, even through trying, difficult times where countries may disagree on this issue or that issue without it leading to military confrontation," he said.

He recognized areas in which China and the United States already are beginning to forge a military-to-military relationship. Their navies recently participated in joint counterpiracy operations, he noted, and leaders are exploring other areas in which they could work together, including health and medicine and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In addition, the United States has invited China to participate in the next Rim of the Pacific naval exercise, in 2014. Twenty-two nations participated in this year's RIMPAC. "We hope that in 2014, the People's Liberation Army navy will find a way to send a ship and be full partners in that," Locklear said. "This is the best way forward."

SEC. OF DEFENSE PANETTA'S GOALS DURING ASIAN TRIP

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta gives an in-flight press briefing while flying to Tokyo, Sept. 15, 2012. Panetta is on an eight-day trip to meet with defense counterparts in Japan, China and New Zealand. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo
Panetta Lists Goals for Asia Trip, Assesses Mideast
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Sept. 16, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta yesterday told traveling reporters about the importance of the three countries he's going to visit: Japan, China and New Zealand.

This trip, Panetta said, offers "an opportunity to further advance our strategy of rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific."

Panetta said the strategy calls for expanding the U.S. naval presence in the region, deepening military engagement with partners and allies, and establishing rotational troop deployments in areas throughout the Asia-Pacific as outlined in his speech at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore in June.

The U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy involves not just defense issues but diplomatic and economic concerns as well, he said.

"Secretary [of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton ... spent the last 10 days in the region," the secretary said. Panetta noted that U.S. Pacific Command's top officer, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, was in China in June and that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter spent 10 days traveling in the Asia-Pacific region in July.

These visits, Panetta said, along with this current trip, bolster the U.S. position that rebalancing focus to the Asia-Pacific region ensures stability there.

The strategy "is really about maintaining and strengthening, not just our presence, but also ... a system of rules and norms and institutions in Asia that have brought decades of security and prosperity" that allowed many nations to thrive, Panetta said.

The U.S. alliance with Japan, the first stop on this trip, is a cornerstone of regional security, Panetta said. Topics to be discussed with Japanese leaders, such as Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, include ballistic missile defense, relocating some U.S. Marines now in Okinawa to Guam and others to another more remote site on the island, and the roles, missions and capabilities of Japan's Self Defense Forces, the secretary said.

The "realignment roadmap" for U.S. Marines in Japan is an issue that has been under discussion between the two countries for many years, he noted.

"We have worked with them closely ... and we were able to work out an agreement, and we are putting that into effect," Panetta said.

"Japan is making new investments for the 21st century, as are we," the secretary said. Japan's "extremely cooperative" support to U.S. troop deployments to the Asia-Pacific in the region is significant, he said.

Panetta said he looks forward to the opportunity on his first visit to China as defense secretary to deepen American-Chinese military-to-military relations. He is scheduled to meet with China's top military and civilian leaders including Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie.

"I recognize the challenges that we have in the relationship," the secretary said. "But I think it is in both of our nations' interest to work towards a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous military-to-military relationship."

Regular senior leader visits between Beijing and Washington have led to important progress toward that goal, Panetta said, adding that he views his trip to China "as an opportunity to advance that relationship even further."

Panetta acknowledged he expects the current territorial disputes over some islands in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the region involving China, Japan, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific nations will be part of the discussions. The secretary said he will continue to urge the U.S. policy of peaceful resolution for territorial disputes, in which the United States does not take sides.

Panetta said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has developed a code of conduct that can serve as the basis for a forum aimed at resolving such territorial disputes peacefully. Issues involving freedom of navigation and mineral or fishing rights may complicate resolution of the dispute over the islands, but Panetta said his central message is that all states involved should refrain from provocative actions.

"Countries are searching for resources; there's going to be questions raised as to who has jurisdiction over these areas," he said. "What we don't want is any kind of provocative behavior resulting in conflict."

The secretary added that issues involving nuclear proliferation, piracy, trade and humanitarian assistance are all areas in which the United States and China can work together.

That work, he said, can foster security in the Asia-Pacific and "enhance the ability of that region to really ... prosper in the future."

Panetta's final stop will be New Zealand, where, he noted, his visit will be the first by a U.S. defense secretary in 30 years.

In his experience, the secretary said, New Zealand is "a very steadfast and a very valued partner to the United States. We deeply appreciate the role that they've played in Afghanistan, and the sacrifice that they've made."

The recent deaths of New Zealand troops serving in Afghanistan is tragic, Panetta said. Yet, New Zealand remains "committed to a strong and continuing role in Afghanistan," he added.

The secretary said his central purpose in traveling to New Zealand is "to see what opportunities exist to try to deepen our defense cooperation."

Even as he sets out on a trip aimed at advancing the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, Panetta said, recent events "remind all of us of the need to maintain a strong presence in the Middle East as well."

The United States has a robust troop presence in the region and has deployed more forces to a number of areas there to respond if the State Department requests defense assistance "to protect our personnel and American property," Panetta said.

Panetta said Libyan authorities are making a strong effort "to respond to the crisis and deal with the issues involved" following the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.

The secretary said defense leaders remain concerned about al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and elsewhere, although any al-Qaida involvement in the Benghazi attack remains to be determined.

"We have to ... go after al-Qaida wherever they are, and wherever they try to hide," Panetta said. The terrorist group is still working to inspire violence and undermine stability, he said, and continues to represent a threat to the United States.

Panetta said he and other U.S. defense leaders have developed a strategy and budget that can address threats around the world while cutting spending by $487 billion over 10 years.

"We are able to respond to the threats that we confront, both in the Middle East and elsewhere," he said. "Obviously, we continue to monitor ... our resources and the costs involved, and to keep the Congress informed."

DOD has "great support from Congress for the work that we're doing," Panetta said, "and I feel very confident we can respond to any contingency we face."

The secretary noted that while some anti-American demonstrations continue in the Middle East, they seem to have leveled off.

"I suspect these demonstrations ... are likely to continue over the next few days, if not longer," Panetta said. His primary concern, he added, is to "make sure ... our people are protected, and we don't have a recurrence of what happened in Libya."

FRIENDSHIP HOSPITAL AND PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2012

　
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Sean Stroup, wearing white mask, and Vietnamese doctors perform surgery on a Vietnamese patient at Friendship Hospital during a Pacific Partnership 2012 subject matter expert exchange in Vinh City, Vietnam, July 19, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Radder

Pacom Supports Partnership, Stability Through Health Engagements

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, Aug. 10, 2012 - U.S. Pacific Command is helping to build stability and security in the Asia-Pacific one inoculation, one cataract surgery and one first-responder training class at a time.

That's the way Navy Rear Adm. Raquel Cruz Bono, the command's top surgeon, views the impact of the full array of medical outreach activities Pacom and its Army, Navy and Air Force components conduct across its area of responsibility.

Bono sees security as among the essential components of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And at its very base are the essentials of life: food, clothing, shelter -- and health.

"The medical element is so critical," she told American Forces Press Service at her headquarters here. "Without health, it is difficult to advance, not only your own personal goals and objectives, but it is really hard to participate in your country's national goals and objectives."

At a time of huge economic growth across the Asia-Pacific -- an area spanning half the globe -- Bono is concerned that the region's health infrastructure hasn't always kept up.

"Growth doesn't necessarily equate to development," she said. "So, perhaps the No. 1 challenge for a lot of the countries in the AOR is being able to develop that health infrastructure -- things like emergency medical response, blood banking and having a medical system that supports some of the disease burden that a country may be experiencing."

Pacom has a long history of medical support across the region and a vast portfolio of medical-related activities.

The U.S. hospital ship USNS Mercy is three months into the Pacific Partnership mission, U.S. Pacific Fleet's largest annual humanitarian and civic-action mission. It includes engagements in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia, all conducted by military and civilian medical and dental professionals, veterinarians, and engineering personnel from the United States and 11 other countries, as well as nongovernmental and international agencies.

Operation Pacific Angel is another recurring Pacom-sponsored joint, combined humanitarian assistance mission. Led by Pacific Air Forces, it includes medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering programs, as well as subject matter experts to provide guidance on infection control and basic life support procedures.

While offering vital medical services, these and other, smaller-scale medical outreach programs help build capacity within host nations' medical systems, Bono said.

"You have to include health at every turn if you really want to be able to partner in a meaningful way," she said. "We are building relationships with the military medical departments in other countries in our AOR, and looking for opportunities, through their eyes, of where we can come in and partner with them and either help bridge some of the things that they are trying to do ... or be able to collaborate with them and their local health officials to augment ...or build up their capability."

Laos is one of the success stories, she said. Through a combination of equipment provided through the foreign military sales program and training support, Pacom helped the Laotian government establish a blood donation center -- with a second one planned in another province -- and develop its blood bank system.

"Over the course of just a few years, they have advanced their expertise [and] have increased the number of units of blood that they collect, which can better support the population there," Bono said. "This is a great example of how we can go in, develop a relationship, determine what the needs are of the population, and then contribute to supporting that population by bringing in expertise and helping the local health community."

These exchanges, she said, also help build a foundation for a faster, better-coordinated response in the event of a natural disaster.

"When we look at our health engagements, we want to be sure we are not only helping the development of health infrastructure and capability and capacity in the area," Bono said, "but also to help build resilience so that, in the event of a natural disaster or any other kind of catastrophic event, that we assisted a country in its ability to respond and recover more quickly."

Sitting in the middle of the earthquake-prone "Ring of Fire," Pacom is no stranger to natural disasters and frequently plays a role in humanitarian assistance and disaster responses.

During Operation Tomodachi, triggered by the earthquake, tsunami and radiological disaster that devastated Japan in March 2011, Pacom and its service components provided help ranging from hands-on medical care to logistical support to advisory and consequence-management assistance.

"We had access to a broad range of expertise and were able to advise and support, and also to be able to help guide the policymaking [decisions]," Bono said. "But our primary role here at Pacom was to make sure we were coordinating a response and that we were managing the consequences in being able to project what needed to happen."

Preparing for the next natural disaster -- which officials here agree is a matter of when, not if -- is a top priority across Pacom. For Bono, that means being ready to provide a medical response.

"The military has had a very long history of being able to respond in the event of a humanitarian assistance or disaster relief event," she said. "Our challenge is to be able to respond very quickly to the call when that occurs."

The medical staff regularly trains, both within the command and with partners and allies, to keep their disaster-response skills high.

For example, this year's Rim of the Pacific, the world's largest, multinational maritime exercise, included the first humanitarian and disaster relief scenario, including a mass casualty drill.

Airmen based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, recently completed aeromedical evacuation training, practicing the techniques of loading patients onto litters, moving them on and off helicopters and providing in-flight patient care.

Bono said she's excited that Pacom's "rebalance" in the region will enhance its ability to train with partner nations and build capability and relationships that cross interagency and international lines.
Doing so, she said, will i
ncrease opportunities for the U.S. military to collaborate with partner nations and help them achieve their health-related priorities.

"By strengthening their own domestic agenda, we often are able to contribute to their own economic and domestic stability," she said. "That, in turn, allows them to participate with us in ensuring regional stability.

"And that is really what will then help us ensure that we have an AOR that is stable, that is prosperous and that continues to grow -- and is a real partner in the globalization of the economy and other efforts, worldwide."

STRAIT OF MALACCA SHOWS MULTILATERAL COOPERATION

U.S. sailors handle lines in preparation to get the littoral combat ship USS Freedom under way from her homeport in Mayport, Fla., Feb. 16, 2010. Freedom, the Navy's first littoral combat ship, is scheduled for a 10-month rotational deployment to Singapore beginning in the spring of 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Leah Stiles

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Strait of Malacca Stands as Model of Multilateral Cooperation
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Aug. 1, 2012 - U.S. Pacific Command is holding up a multinational partnership in the Asia-Pacific region as a model for the type of cooperation the command is working to promote to deal with transnational threats.

A decade ago, the Strait of Malacca was a dangerous place, where pirates launched almost 50 attacks a year in the narrow, 550-mile-long sea lane linking the Indian and Pacific oceans. That had serious international implications, because about 50,000 vessels transit the passageway each year, carrying an estimated 40 percent of the world's trade.

Today, incidents have dropped to fewer than five a year, without a single successful hijacking in almost four years, reported Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael A. Keltz, Pacom's director of strategic planning and policy.

Keltz attributed that success to a partnership among nations bordering the strait, with help from U.S.-funded technology that has boosted maritime security dramatically.

Meanwhile, countries that once resisted engaging in multilateral, multinational operations now are doing so, Keltz said. Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and, increasingly, Thailand, have joined forces to increase patrols and improve their collective maritime domain awareness and law-enforcement capabilities.

A command and control information center that opened at Singapore's Changi Naval Base in 2009 supports this effort, drawing together information shared by 11 nations. This includes data from shore-based radars positioned throughout the region and an electronic tracking system that automatically identifies vessels transiting the strait.

The neighbors share this information, establishing a common operational picture that enables all to better detect and identify potential threats, Keltz said.

The Strait of Malacca stands as an example, he said, as nations come together to address regional challenges collectively.

"That is the model we are building for our [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] partner nations," he said. "We help them achieve the basic [defense] capabilities so that they can do that [mission] themselves."

As it implements the new strategic guidance focused heavily on the Asia-Pacific, Pacom is working actively to promote more multilateral cooperation, Keltz noted. It's a major thrust behind the Pacific rebalancing effort, including new force rotational arrangements.

"We want to be better situated around the entire Pacific to build those partnership capacities on a trilateral, multilateral and regional basis," he said.

As regional partners exercise their own enhanced capabilities, Singapore has agreed to host U.S. Navy littoral combat ships on a rotational basis. The Navy's new LCS, USS Freedom, is scheduled for its first 10-month rotational deployment to Singapore beginning next spring.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, Pacom commander, welcomed the planned rotations, along with Marine rotational deployments in Australia, as a way to expand U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific without the need for more permanently based forces.

The littoral combat ships, he said, will be positioned alongside a strong, reliable partner near the strategic Strait of Malacca that links the Indian and Pacific oceans. "It will give us a unique, credible combat credibility for our maritime security, particularly in one of the largest choke points in the world," he said.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Defense Minister Ng En Hen of Singapore announced during security talks in Singapore that the two countries had agreed to lay plans for expanding this arrangement to include additional littoral ships.

"Secretary Panetta reaffirmed that the LCS deployment would strengthen U.S. engagement in the region, through the port calls at regional ports, and engagement of regional navies through activities such as exercises and exchanges," according to a joint statement released after that meeting.

Locklear said he'd like to build on these models as he implements the new strategic guidance that emphasizes the importance of Asia and the Pacific. Rotational forces provide "an uptick in presence" that he said complements that provided by the 330,000 service members permanently based within Pacom's area of responsibility.

"What they provide is an ability to work with our allies and to leverage the capabilities of the allies across all aspects of peace to conflict," the admiral said. Meanwhile, he added, the additional presence rotational forces provide creates regional footholds that could pay off if the United States had to flow more forces to protect U.S. or allies interests there.

That presence, and the experience base it helps to build, would be particularly valuable in a disaster requiring humanitarian assistance, such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, or any other crisis, he said.

"It gives training to the forces that rotate in and out," he explained, so they are familiar with the region and the regional militaries if they need to work together. He cited last year's Operation Tomodachi in Japan as an example. "So there is a lot of value to it," he said.

MILITARY-LAW ENFORCEMENT WORK TO STEM METH INGREDIENT SHIPMENTS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Navy Seals operating in support of Joint Interagency Task force West train with counternarcotics forces in the Asia-Pacific region to help them improve their riverine operations to stem the flow of drugs and precursor chemicals, July 18, 2010. DOD photo by Air Force Capt. Kali Pinckney
Task Force Stems Chemical Trafficking in Asia-PacificBy Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, Aug. 2, 2012 - A little-known organization with U.S. Pacific Command is bringing together military and law-enforcement capabilities to combat drug-related transnational crime in the Asia-Pacific region that has a direct impact on U.S. security.

Interagency Task Force West's major concern is precursor chemicals that are trafficked to the Western Hemisphere to produce methamphetamine, the task force director, Coast Guard Rear Adm. James Rendon, told American Forces Press Service.

These chemicals, frequently shipped from China, are sent to illegal laboratories in Mexico and Central America, where they are used to manufacture the highly addictive stimulant referred to on the street as "meth," "glass" or "tik."

Eighty percent of the methamphetamine that makes its way to the United States transit through Mexico, Rendon reported.

Illicit drugs have long represented a threat to the United States, where drug abuse takes a heavy personal toll on users and their loveed ones. But society at large suffers, too, not only from petty crimes committed by addicts to fund their habits, but also from even-more-insidious activities conducted by transnational crime rings bankrolled by the drug trade.

"There is a link, absolutely," Rendon said. "For transnational criminal organizations, there are no boundaries."

That gives them wide berth to gain power and influence that ultimately destabilizes governments and provides a funding source for extremism, he said. So, recognizing the link between drug trafficking, U.S. national security and regional stability, JIATF West is working hand in hand with its U.S. interagency and regional partners to confront this scourge.

JIATF West is one of three joint, interagency task forces with similar missions. JIATF South, based in Key West, Fla., is focused largely on cocaine trafficking within U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility. Joint Task Force North at Fort Bliss, Texas, part of U.S. Northern Command, concentrates predominantly on drug trafficking and other transnational threats along the southwestern U.S. border.

By law, the Defense Department is barred from actively conducting law enforcement. But it contributes to those efforts largely by sharing intelligence about drug flows or shipments of precursor chemicals, Rendon said.

"We have a very capable intelligence directorate, which has at its disposal all the tools ... to be looking for things that just don't look right in terms of shipments going across the Pacific," he said.

JIATF West passes this information through the interagency and to partner nations so their law enforcement entities can disrupt and seize shipments, typically after arriving at their destination ports, he said.

This collaboration is paying off, Rendon reported. Since 2010, JIATF West contributed to the seizure of about 1,500 metric tons of precursor chemicals used to produce methamphetamine. So far this fiscal year, he estimated that the task force has helped prevent production of up to 200 metric tons of methamphetamine.

To support this effort, an equally important part of JIATF West's mission is to help regional partners improve their domestic counternarcotics capabilities. "We meet with our partner nations, we assess what their needs are and then we do our best to support their needs," Rendon said.

Training packages, often delivered by Army Special Forces teams, range from tactical to classroom training tailored to an individual country's requirements, he said. Courses can cover anything from marksmanship to mission planning. More recently, U.S. FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration officials have begun providing fraudulent document training to help partners follow the illicit money trail.

JIATF West also focuses heavily on the maritime domain and helping partner nations build capacity within their maritime police or coast guards. This runs the gamut, from deploying trainers to help nations close capability gaps to helping them develop the physical infrastructure and bases needed to project power within their sovereign waters.

Meanwhile, JIATF West also is supporting capacity-building through other base development projects. Rendon recently returned from Indonesia and Thailand, where the task force, working through the U.S. embassies in those countries, established training centers where law enforcement officials can learn tracking and interdiction techniques and apply them in realistic training scenarios.

Rendon said he's been impressed that partner nations recognize the negative impact of trafficking on their own countries and are dedicated to doing their part to control it.

One of his goals, he said, is to partner with China -- which has a huge chemical manufacturing base -- to stem the diversion of some of these chemicals for illicit uses. Rendon plans to travel to China in September with R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, to address this challenge, along with other demand and supply side issues.

"We are hopeful that China will want to engage with us," he said. "There is something in it for them just as much as there is something in it for us. And the bottom line is methamphetamine is just a horrible drug that has so many negative consequences related to the health, the safety and security of citizens of all countries."

As JIATF West and U.S. partners in the Asia-Pacific region experience success, Rendon recognizes that the traffickers continue to adapt their practices to avoid detection and interdiction. He compared it to the "balloon effect," in which pushing at one spot on a balloon causes it to bulge out on the other side, signifying a change of tactics.

"So we are constantly looking for ways to keep up with their tactics," he said of the traffickers.

The impact of these and other capacity-building efforts extends beyond the partners' own borders, Rendon said, contributing to regional stability.

"Everything that we do is in support of U.S. interests, but also in promoting regional stability and security within the Asia-Pacific region," he said. "The Asia-Pacific region has a drug problem itself. And so we work with various countries and train those various countries in a spectrum of topics to help their law enforcement be able to combat transnational organized crime."

U.S. PACIFIC COMMANDER WANTS BETTER MILITARY RELATIONS WITH CHINA

Photo:  Chinese Nuclear Bomb.  Credit:  Wikimedia
FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 
Commander Seeks Better Military-to-Military Relations With China
By Jim Garamone
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2012 - Chinese and American officials recognize the importance of good, uninterrupted military-to-military relations, and the commander of U.S. Pacific Command will do what he can to further that goal.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III spoke about his new command and the importance he places in building the U.S. military relationship with China during a recent interview.
"The last thing you want to have is miscalculation between large militaries," the admiral said. "You want diplomacy to work. Militaries should only come into play when diplomacy fails, and then they should work hard to get you back into a diplomatic dialogue where real peace lies."

The U.S.-China military relationship has been rocky. China broke off military-to-military relations with the United States in January 2010, when the United States announced it would sell arms to Taiwan. For months, military relations were frozen, then they slowly warmed. In 2011, the military-to-military relationship resumed. Then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates stressed that it was particularly in times of stress between the nations that such ties were important.

Gates visited China in January 2011, and his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Liang Guanglie, just finished a visit to the United States. The visit went forward even as arms sales to Taiwan again hit the news.

Chinese government officials face many decisions as the country moves forward. The nation has had stupendous growth over the past 30 years, and year-to-year growth in gross domestic product remains high. The Chinese army is benefiting from the booming economy, and Chinese officials are modernizing the military.

"They are an emerging power, and we are a mature power," Locklear said. "How they emerge, and how we encourage them will be an important key to both China and the United States."

The Chinese have many choices to make, and better military-to-military communications will allow both nations to understand why officials are making these choices. All this is "for the good of the global security environment," Locklear said.
The on-again, off-again nature of communications between the militaries doesn't help. "I think we may be reaching a turning point in that," he said. "Both nations realize that it's not in the best interests of anyone in the world for the U.S. and China to not have a favorable relationship with each other, and that good military-to-military relations [are] critical to that."

Military-to-military contacts are one way to build trust between the nations, the admiral said. "You learn to operate together, you learn to cooperate, you learn about each other's families -- you get a personal view of each other." So when things happen, he added, commanders can reach out to one another.

Sometimes it's impossible for capitals to talk to each other, the admiral said, and military commanders, with these types of contacts, sometimes can calm things down a bit.
Locklear had just returned from a visit to Beijing, and said he came away encouraged by the progress. "I'm hopeful that we can continue to have a dialogue and just talk together," he said. "It doesn't mean we have to agree on everything."
The United States and its closest allies don't agree on everything, he noted. "But I do believe we should not allow those disagreements prevent us from understanding each other in the places that we can, and allow us to control our appetite for disagreement," he said.

The South China Sea is an area of contention, with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia asserting jurisdiction in various parts of the waterway, which covers an area from Singapore to Taiwan.
"The United States doesn't take sides on competing territorial claims," Locklear said. "But we have an opinion on how we want those disputes to be resolved. First, we want them resolved by peaceful means and in accordance with customary law and by the things like the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. There are ways to deal with this."
Additionally, the United States calls upon all claimants to clarify their claims.
The South China Sea is crucial to trade in the region and with the United States. Half of the trade for the United States flows through the region. Almost all of the oil for China and Japan flow through the waterway.

There are competing claims to islands and seamounts in the sea, and how this plays out is of concern to the United States. "The way to deal with this is to settle in a forum where there can be as much win-win as possible," the admiral said. "But we want it done in a peaceful environment and we don't want a heavy hand from any side to enforce the process."

While not taking sides, the United States has a national interest in the freedom of the seas -- including the South China Sea -- and has consistently opposed excessive maritime claims. U.S. forces will continue to preserve the rights, freedoms and uses of the sea guaranteed to all nations by conducting freedom of navigation missions in the area.
While China is important to the U.S. strategy in the region, Locklear said, Korea is one area that keeps him awake at night. North Korea has a new leader, and more than half the population survives on fewer than 800 calories a day. The regime spent an inordinate amount of money to try to launch an ICBM, and there are rumblings that North Korea may continue to develop nuclear weapons. With the money that North Korea spent on its failed missile, "you could have fed 20 million people for one year," the admiral said.
Transnational threats also are a growing concern. Locklear said the cyber threat is the greatest transnational threat in the region, followed by terrorism. U.S. Pacific Command has an office dedicated to protecting its own networks and working with allies to combat cyber attacks. Locklear said he wants regional and international organizations to work together to define the rules of the Internet road.

"In the area of violent terror organizations, we are seeing ... a transition," the admiral said. "In the terror world, as you squeeze on one side of the balloon, it pops out somewhere else. Terrorists look for areas to exploit."

Terror groups are drawn to areas where people are disenfranchised and poor. "We're seeing more of that in some areas of Asia and we are going to have to adapt our forces to deal with that," Locklear said. "But in the long run, I think the solution is prosperity, and a general sense of security that makes it so these terror networks can't survive."
But the bottom line, the admiral said, is that the American people have to understand that the United States is a Pacific nation, with national interests that must be secured.
"For six decades, the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific has provided the security infrastructure that basically underpins the prosperity in the region," he added. "This will continue."