US defence secretary: ‘we are a Pacific power, we aren’t going anywhere’
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Version 0 of 1. The US secretary of defence, Chuck Hagel, has insisted during a visit to Australia that the US is a Pacific power and will remain a force in the region despite the considerable challenges posed by conflagrations around the globe and China’s apparent aspiration to assert its growing military might. In Australia for the Ausmin talks – a regular gathering of foreign and defence ministers from Australia and the US – Hagel was asked by reporters about Washington’s commitment to the Pacific in the context of China’s inexorable rise and its obvious determination to make its presence felt. Beijing has this past weekend successfully rebuffed a motion at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), which sought to curtail China’s provocative actions in the disputed territory of the South China Sea. Hagel responded to the recent events at Asean by telling reporters the US position was that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved by international law, not by acts of aggression. He also rejected the inference that the US was preoccupied elsewhere. The US secretary of state said America was fully capable of balancing its various interests and allegiances around the world. A focus on one part of the world did not mean a retreat from another part of the world, he said. Of American interests in the Pacific, Hagel said: “We are a Pacific power, we aren’t going anywhere.” He pointed to historic security ties with partners, including Japan and Australia, and to treaty obligations in the region. Hagel said there was a clear US interest in remaining present in the region given the economic transformation under way in Asia, and the emergence of an “astounding” new middle class. “Our partnerships are here, our treaty obligations are here and are important to us,” Hagel said. “By any measurement of commitment it’s pretty clear the US is committed to this part of the world.” Australia and other allies in the region have been keen to keep the US engaged in the Pacific after the “pivot” or “rebalance” – a foreign policy stance developed by the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and articulated by the Obama administration. But America’s broad diplomatic and strategic overture to the Pacific has been tested by commitments elsewhere and by China’s continuing acts of aggression in the South China Sea. The president made a major foreign policy speech in May which made no reference to the rebalance. The substantive Ausmin talks on Tuesday will canvas a number of pressing security issues, including closer co-operation on ballistic missile defence systems. The foreign and defence ministers will also also sign off on a 25-year “force posture” agreement allowing US marines and air force personnel to rotate through northern Australia. The Australian defence minister, David Johnston, appeared on Monday to hint at a greater presence by the US military in northern Australia over time. Hagel said he had already held a preliminary discussion on ballistic missile co-operation with Johnston on Monday afternoon but he declined to indicate where the talks might land. “We are going to talk tomorrow,” he said. “We think there is great opportunities and possibilities going forward. Beyond that I don’t have anything to say.” The wind down of the conflict in Afghanistan, and joint humanitarian actions in Iraq, will also be part of the discussions. |