Philippines, U.S. agree to reduce joint military drills, U.S. troop deployments, general says

• NOV 23, 2016
  ARTICLE HISTORY
• PRINT
• SHARE

MANILA – Philippine and United States military officials have agreed to scale back joint exercises and reduce U.S. troop deployments, a Philippine general involved in the talks said on Tuesday, though a statement issued by the allies spoke of “close cooperation.”

The joint statement omitted mention of any reduced level of engagement between the two militaries, though President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his opposition to having foreign troops on Philippine soil and has threatened to scrap exercises and abrogate pacts.

Reading the joint statement, spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said there would be continued “close cooperation in areas central to both our national and security interests.”

Trump won’t withdraw US forces from Pacific, expert predicts

By SETH ROBSON | STARS AND STRIPESPublished: November 22, 2016

TOKYO, Japan — A foreign policy expert says America won’t withdraw troops from the Far East but could disperse some of them after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Martin Schulz, a senior research fellow at the Fujitsu Research Institute, told the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan he didn’t think the Trump administration would vacate U.S. bases in the Western Pacific. About 50,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, with almost 30,000 on the Korean peninsula.

Trump said during the election campaign that Japan and South Korea should contribute more to the cost of stationing U.S. forces on their territory and threatened to withdraw troops if the host nations didn’t oblige. 

AFP, US Pacific command chiefs weigh future of US-PH military ties

MANILA – The head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines met with the chief of the United States Pacific Command (US Pacom) on Tuesday to discuss the future of military cooperation between the two Pacific allies.

US Pacom chief Admiral Harry Harris was at the AFP headquarters to attend the annual Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) with AFP Chief of Staff Ricardo Visaya.

The annual assembly of the US and Philippine militaries defines the joint activities to be conducted in the coming year.

Buildup groundbreaking after January 2017

The military doesn’t intend to break ground on construction projects related to the transfer of about 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam until after January 2017, according to a Justice Department filing with the federal court in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The groundbreaking for the proposed construction of a Marine Corps base in Guam, a housing facility for the Marines’ families at Andersen Air Force Base, and other projects related to the relocation, won’t happen until the conclusion of consultations on how the military’s buildup plans would affect protected wildlife under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Justice Department.

The Presidential Apprentice: What a Trump administration could mean for Guam

Although Guam voters overwhelmingly chose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a margin of nearly three-to-one in its Presidential Straw Poll on Election Day, the nation as a whole – by way of the Electoral College, at least – decided otherwise. 

While voters here were mostly unsurprised by the ushering in of a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature, the mood of the mainland was entirely different on Nov. 8 as Trump became President-elect and Republicans won majorities in both houses of Congress. Continuing upon a pattern of shocking outcomes and highly irregular theatrics that have made this election cycle unlike anything seen in living memory, the businessman and reality TV host stunned pollsters and pundits of all political stripes who did not believe he could woo enough support to win following nearly 18 months of a steady stream of sharp rhetoric directed against religious and ethnic minorities, POWs, a Gold Star family, and a leaked recording of a lewd conversation in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women.

Now that Trump will occupy the White House despite Clinton winning the popular vote by an estimated two million votes (the ballots are still being tallied), what will his presidency mean for Guam?

Asia Awaits the Trump Era

Before November 8, there were few assurances more sacrosanct than Washington’s guarantee to safeguard the security and stability of its allies across the Asia-Pacific. Since its days of imperial expansion in the Philippines and through World War II, the United States has helped preserve rule-based order in the Pacific. In 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson formally declared that the United States would defend Japan and the Philippines, creating a zone of protection that would ultimately encompass Taiwan and South Korea. Through the 20th century, the United States emerged as the dominant power in the region, with permanent military bases in Japan, South Korea, and elsewhere.

After November 8, in the coming age of Donald Trump, uncertainty over Washington’s role in the Pacific reigns supreme.

Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea

BANGKOK (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

Opinion: Requiem for the Pacific pivot

It is said in a military organization that "no good idea survives a change-of-command ceremony," and the same may be said of a U.S. presidential inauguration. Despite several years of advocacy (with surprisingly little actual shift of attention or resources), the much vaunted "Pacific pivot" of the Obama administration seems unlikely to be a central organizing feature of a Trump presidency, to say the least. Where will Asia policy go under the new administration? And what does it mean for Asia in the security dimension?

First a quick review: the Pacific pivot, which was eventually renamed to the more benign-sounding "Pacific rebalance" was announced with much fanfare in late 2011. As originally envisioned, the idea was that after ending the intractable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. would focus far more of its time, attention and security resources on the Pacific region. This was the correct course for the nation, according to President Barack Obama and his team, because of the inexorable growth of the Asian economies, population and security capability.

American Samoa demand US military clean up fuel site

There is anger in American Samoa at the US Defense Department's refusal to do anything about an old army fuel storage site that has contaminated the surrounding soils.

The fuel site was used during World War Two when American Samoa served as a staging post for US troops fighting further west in the Pacific.

The American Samoa Power Authority wants to put sanitation and water supply systems through the area at Aua on Tutuila but its executive director, Utu Abe Malae, says it is too risky and costly for them.

Xi hopes for smooth transition in Sino-US ties

By Bai Tiantian and Chen Heying 

Source: Global Times 

Published: 2016/11/21 0:08:39

 

The last meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama aimed at ensuring a "smooth transition" of Sino-US relations as China prepares for the uncertainties of a US president-elect whose future adjustments to foreign policies, which remain unclear at the moment, may present challenges to bilateral ties, analysts said. 

Meeting on the sidelines of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting on Saturday in Lima, Peru, Xi said that he is willing to work with Donald Trump to expand cooperation in various fields at bilateral, regional and global levels, and manage differences in a constructive way, so as to realize a relationship featuring non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and push forward China-US ties further from a new starting point, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Hawaii governor ready to accept U.S. forces from Japan

David Ige, the Okinawa descendent governor of Hawaii, had an exclusive interview Tuesday with Kyodo News in the Hawaii state government offices.

In the interview, Ige stated that he would accept the U.S. military troops move to Hawaii on condition the U.S. government provides funds for necessary infrastructure investments, in the case that the president-elect Donald J. Trump decides to withdraw the U.S. military forces from Japan.

The possibility of such withdrawal rose during the U.S. presidential election campaign when Trump suggested that Japan does not pay enough for the stationing of U.S. troops on cases here, and that he might withdraw the troops if Japan refused to pay more.

Fisherman Yamashiro: Destroying the forests will kill the ocean

November 15, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On November 14, a protest boat took to the sea for the first time in the protest movement against the U.S. military helipads being constructed in Takae. The protest boat was manned by fisherman Yoshikatsu Yamashiro, age 72. Yamashiro waited on the boat for his friends, who landed their kayaks at the mouth of the Ukagawa River and went to join the protests. Shortly past noon, several protesters could be seen from the boat climbing onto the cliffs aiming for the place where materials had been brought in by air. “The ocean is our father. The forest is our mother. If the forest is destroyed, red soil flows to the ocean, and both die,” says Yamashiro, furrowing his brown and looking up at his friends.

Yamashiro has been a fisherman for fifty years. In order to protect the forests, which he considers to be a pair together with the ocean, he is expressing unwavering opposition to the helipad construction.

At economic summit, Obama seeks to shore up U.S. focus on Asia-Pacific region

By Juliet Eilperin November 19 at 8:44 PM 

LIMA — President Obama sought to reassure leaders here at an annual summit that the United States would continue to pursue closer ties with the Asia-Pacific region, even though Donald Trump’s presidency is sure to reshape America’s approach to the region.

Several months ago, administration officials envisioned the ­Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting as a possible capstone to years of painstaking efforts to deepen trade, defense and diplomatic ties between the United States and East and Southeast Asia, the world’s most populous and fastest-growing region.

But Trump’s sharp criticism of trade deals such as the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which still lacks congressional ratification, and his suggestion that long-standing U.S. military base agreements in Japan and South Korea might be too expensive to maintain, threatens to reverse the Obama administration’s agenda and upend decades of American leadership in the region.

Opinion: "The TPP is dead, long live the TPP"

Editor's Note: 

The election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States seems to have sealed the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, writes Mireya Solis. The American TPP interlude is over, time for TPP (and Asia) to move on. This piece originally appeared on Nikkei Asian Review.

The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States seems to have sealed the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The president-elect has promised to withdraw the United States from this 12-nation trade deal on his first day in office, and the Congressional Republican leadership will not bring the TPP to a vote in the lame-duck session. The priority for establishment Republicans is to repair relations with Trump, not to alienate him on a defining issue of his candidacy—trade-bashing—which so powerfully mobilized Trump’s supporters. The TPP’s death certificate appears ready to be stamped and mailed.

Author

Mireya Solís

Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies

Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies

solis_msolis

To be sure, the TPP’s only future is a renegotiation, but a renegotiation that during the Trump presidency will most likely not include the United States. The day the United States withdraws from the TPP, the remaining 11 members need only change one clause to give the TPP a new lease on life. They could simply amend the enactment rules so that U.S. participation is no longer required for implementation of the trade deal.

U.S. military to return land in Okinawa on Dec 22: gov't source

TOKYO —

The United States plans to return to Japan roughly half of a large U.S. military training area in the southern island prefecture of Okinawa on Dec 22, a Japanese government source said Thursday.

The return of land within the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in the villages of Kunigami and Higashi would mark the largest return of land used as a U.S. base there since the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan from U.S. control.

It would reduce the acreage of land occupied by U.S. military facilities in Okinawa by 17 percent, shrinking the prefecture’s burden from hosting 74 percent of all U.S. military facilities in Japan to 70 percent in terms of land area.

Okinawans awarded $22.6 million for aircraft noise at Futenma

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Some Okinawa residents say they will continue to fight to halt U.S. military flights at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, even after being awarded $22.6 million for damages for aircraft noise.

The ruling Thursday by a three-judge panel at the Okinawa City Branch of Naha District Court says the Japanese government must pay 3,417 residents, working out to roughly $6,614 per plaintiff before legal expenses. They had sought $91.7 million.

The judiciary dismissed the plaintiffs’ demand to halt flight operations at Futenma, leaving some upset and vowing to appeal.

Partial Return of U.S. Military Site in Okinawa Set for Dec. 22

   Tokyo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)--The partial return of land used for a U.S. military training site in Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has been set for Dec. 22, Japanese government officials said Friday. 

   It will be the largest return of U.S.-occupied land since the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

   Through the event, the Japanese government hopes to highlight its efforts to reduce the burden on Okinawa of hosting many U.S. bases, and win support from local residents for the planned relocation of the Marine Corps' Futenma air station within the prefecture.

Washington, Beijing: Military Drills Must Continue Under New US Administration

Commanders from both sides emphasized on Friday that maintaining exchanges between the two militaries is crucial to improving relations under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
 
The US-China Disaster Management Exchange, first held in 2005, was initiated to help soothe tensions between China and the US over territorial claims in the South China Sea. The drills typically last a week and feature command-post exercises, a simulated disaster scenario for troop exercises, and various academic exchanges. 

Gen. Liu Xiaowu, ground forces commander for China's Southern Theater Command remarked, "This kind of exchange acts as a bridge to promote relations between the two militaries and I am sure it will be conducted in an even higher level in the future…No matter who is president, as long as it's aimed at humanitarian relief to help relieve suffering of those in disaster zones, it will win support." 

US: Defense outlook on Asia-Pacific unlikely to change

There have been fears among some of Washington’s allies that President-elect Donald Trump could backtrack on the ‘Asia pivot’, which has seen US shift energies from the Middle East to the Pacific.

But senior US military officer Admiral Harry Harris said earlier this week that the new US administration could not shake the country’s resolve to maintain peace and security in the Asia Pacific region.

Speaking during the annual Defense One summit in Washington DC, the Commander of US Pacific Command sought to reassure allies in the Asia-Pacific region that their security is integral to that of the US.

Asia-Pacific leaders talk trade in a Trump world

Lima (AFP) - Top world leaders meet from Thursday to try to save their cherished free trade accords from feared extinction under US President-elect Donald Trump.

Here are three big factors looming over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit from Thursday to Sunday in Lima, Peru.

- Trump effect -

Trump has cast uncertainty on the postwar world order with his vows to tear up or renegotiate international free trade agreements in order to protect US jobs.

Abe convinced Trump 'is a leader we can trust'

By AKIKO NISHIMAE and ISABEL REYNOLDS | Bloomberg | Published: November 18, 2016

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Donald Trump was a trustworthy leader in comments after his first meeting with the U.S. president-elect, whose statements on trade and security have sparked concern in Japan.

Abe told reporters in New York on Thursday night that he had frank discussions in a "warm atmosphere" at Trump Tower. He said he explained his views on a range of issues, but declined to comment on the substance of the talks in a meeting that lasted more than an hour. Abe gave Trump a golf club, and received a golf shirt from the real-estate mogul.

General: As Pacific Grows More Unstable, the Fight is Coming

Military.com | Nov 18, 2016 | by Hope Hodge Seck

With uncertain new leadership in allied countries and the sabre-rattling of hostile states growing louder, Marines in the Pacific are being prepared for a coming conflict, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Division said this week.

Speaking at Marine Corps Association's Ground Dinner near Washington, D.C., Thursday night, Maj. Gen. Richard Simcock made a plea for more amphibious ships in the region and increased collaboration with the Navy as the region anticipates a future that may include a confrontation or contingency involving a powerful regional competitor.

"The fight that's coming, we're not going to be able to get a hodgepodge, hillbilly organization and just throw three [Marine Expeditionary Units] together and say that's a [Marine Expeditionary Brigade] and we can land the landing force," he said. "We're not training with our Navy brethren; we're not doing the things that are going to carry us to victory in the fight that is clearly coming out of the Pacific. Those are the biggest issues that I deal with right now."

BECQ: Devt on Saipan affects environment

Saipan’s environment has been taking a hit with all the development that is going on in the island, said Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality administrator Frank Rabauliman.

He said that infrastructure improvements are essential to accommodate the needs of the developers. Improvements on the sewer, water, power, and traffic needs are some examples.

“When developers come through the major siting permit application, they are required to provide an environmental assessment or impact. [They report] what is the impact on water, traffic, sewer, all of those, and a lot of them have to include the environment,” said Rabauliman.

Guam Delegation visits Council of Indigenous Peoples

Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP, 原民會) Minister Icyang Parod received a delegation consisting of six leaders from the legislatures of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday, Nov. 16, according to a press release from the CIP.

 Delegation members, led by speaker of the Guam Legislature Judith Won Pat, held discussions revolving cultural connections between indigenous peoples of Taiwan, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Talks touched on local lore of the Northern Mariana Islands' Chamorro indigenous peoples, who migrated to the Micronesian region from more northern islands, the CIP stated. Some say the Chamorro's ancestors were actually from Taiwan.

When examining Taiwanese indigenous peoples' traditional accessories and clothing, the delegation members also expressed interest in the cultural similarities between the peoples' culture and language, said the CIP.

 The delegation visiting Taiwan comprises Won Pat, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Legislature Senate Floor Leader Steve K. Mesngon, Vice Speaker of Guam Legislature Benjamin Cruz, CNMI Legislature lawmaker Joseph T. Guerrero and CNMI legal consultant Jose Bermudes, according to the CIP.

Forum provides insight on Guam's future under Trump

Donald Trump’s surprising victory as the newly elected leader of the free world struck a nerve with many liberal voters who have struggled to accept the outcome of last week’s election as they imagine what Trump’s presidency will look like.

For many Guamanians, most of whom overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in the island’s presidential straw poll, Trump’s rise to power hasn’t created a local scare to move off-island, according to Michael Bevacqua, chairman of the Independence Guahan Task Force.

“Social media posts appeared all over Guam, interestingly enough, not necessarily people saying they are going to move to Canada or any other country, but instead saying ‘shouldn’t Guam decolonize? Shouldn’t Guam become independent?’” Bevacqua recalled after the election.

South Korea, US jointly warn North Korea from Guam

South Korea’s highest-ranking general and the U.S. general in charge of U.S. forces in South Korea held an unprecedented meeting on Guam Tuesday, sending a joint message, calling for North Korea to stop developing nuclear weapons and test-firing missiles.

If North Korea doesn’t listen, Gen. Sun Jin Lee, chairman of the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, the international community should be called upon to support all options, including what he called military options.

Lee’s meeting at Naval Base Guam with Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, a four-star Army general and commander of the combined U.S forces in South Korea, underscored their message that U.S. forces and weapons based in Guam — temporarily or permanently — serve as an extension of America’s capabilities to deal with North Korea if the need arises.

U.S. forces set Dec. 22 for return of huge land parcel in Okinawa

The United States plans to return to Japan roughly half of a large U.S. military training area in Okinawa on Dec. 22, a Japanese government source said Thursday.

The return of land within the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in the villages of Kunigami and Higashi would mark the largest return of land used as a U.S. base there since the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan from U.S. control.

It would reduce the acreage occupied by U.S. military facilities in Okinawa by 17 percent, shrinking the prefecture’s burden from hosting 74 percent of all U.S. military facilities in Japan to 70 percent in terms of land area.

Okinawans win compensation against U.S. base noise pollution

OKINAWA, Okinawa Prefecture--A court here ordered the central government to pay compensation of 2.46 billion yen ($22.5 million) to be shared among 3,395 plaintiffs for noise pollution caused by a U.S. military base.

However, the district court stopped short of meeting a demand from the plaintiffs for an injunction against the noise pollution at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan.

The Okinawa branch of the Naha District Court stated in its Nov. 17 ruling that plaintiffs who lived in an area where the weighted equivalent continuous perceived noise level was 75 or higher "experienced a psychological burden and had various aspects of their daily lives interfered with, from conversation, telephone calls, watching TV, listening to the radio, studying and spending time with the family."

Donald Trump wants to increase America’s military force in the Asia-Pacific

DONALD Trump’s administration has given its strongest indication yet that the United States will increase America’s military force against China.

Rudy Giuliani, the president-elect’s frontrunner for secretary of state, has revealedMr Trump intends to prioritise building a “gigantic” military force to overthrow China’s ambitions in the Pacific.

Speaking to global business leaders in Washington yesterday, Mr Giuliani said the United States would raise its number of troops to 550,000, instead of shrinking it to 420,000.

He also said they intended to take their navy up to 350 ships, instead of going down to 247. It currently has around 280.

“At 350, China can’t match us in the Pacific. At 247 ships, we can’t fight a two-ocean war; we gave up the Pacific. If you face them with a military that is modern, gigantic, overwhelming and unbelievably good at conventional and asymmetric warfare, they may challenge it, but I doubt it.”

Packed Japan-U.S. agenda for Trump's meeting with Abe

NEW YORK —

That U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s first sitdown with a foreign leader is with Japan’s Shinzo Abe is telling: the Republican billionaire’s rise to power has rattled America’s Asian allies.

Faced with a nuclear-armed and provocative North Korea and a newly assertive China, Japan and South Korea rely on U.S. leadership and close military, diplomatic and trade ties with Washington.

If Trump calls this relationship into question—as he did repeatedly on the campaign stump, before dialing back his rhetoric as Election Day approached—it will mark a historic geopolitical shift.

Unmoored from Washington, Japan and South Korea may feel obliged to develop nuclear arsenals of their own or make accommodations with U.S. rival Beijing.

Hawaii governor hopes U.S. ties to Japan will transcend Trump

HONOLULU – Donald Trump’s stunning election win has made many in Japan, indeed the entire Asia-Pacific region, concerned about U.S. national policy on trade, security and the U.S. role in the region.

But the United States’ close ties with Japan have given Hawaii Gov. David Ige a measured view of the future under a Trump administration.

“As (Trump) settles into the job of president, and as he learns and understands more about (the) Asia-Pacific and the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship, I think you’ll see a change in his campaign promises to what actually gets implemented,” Ige said in an interview this week.

Abe’s plan to win over Japan-bashing Trump: Unabashed flattery

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to turn on the charm when he becomes the first world leader to meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump since the election.

 Before Thursday’s meeting, Abe lauded the real-estate mogul’s “extraordinary talents” in a congratulatory message, and canceled a speaking engagement in Peru to stop off in New York to hold talks with the president-elect.

Abe says he’ll seek to work “hand-in-hand” with the next commander-in-chief, part of his efforts to deter Trump from pursuing the trade and security policies he espoused in his election campaign. 

Trump has vowed to drop a Pacific trade deal and accused Japan of manipulating its currency. The president-elect has also stirred unease in Tokyo by threatening to pull U.S. troops out of the country unless it pays more for their upkeep, and has suggested Japan might have to develop its own nuclear weapons.

US Admiral Seeks to Reassure Asia Pacific Allies

A top U.S. military officer says the resolve to maintain peace and security in the Asia Pacific region will not change under the new U.S. administration.

Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command sought to reassure U.S. allies that the Asia-Pacific region is vital to the prosperity and security of the United States.

“America never has a lame duck commander-in-chief,” Harris said, indicating that U.S. President Barack Obama will remain engaged in the region until his term ends in mid January.

US Admiral: US to Maintain Commitment to Allies in Asia

WASHINGTON — 

The U.S. military's top commander in the Pacific tried on Tuesday to reassure allies that Washington will maintain its commitment to Asia and maintain strong military relations with partners, some of whom are worried about President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy.

"I have no doubt that we will continue our steadfast commitment to our allies and partners in the Indo-Asia Pacific," Admiral Harry Harris, head of the military's Pacific Command, said at an event held by the publication Defense One.

"The need for and the value of American engagement in the Indo-Asia-Pacific is convincing and it has [been] proven over decades," Harris said.

Righting US wrongs ought to be Trump's Asia-Pacific policy

The world is still wondering what will be the impact of Donald Trump's election as US president on different countries and regions. But going by Trump's remarks during the presidential campaign, he may handle some of the world's key security issues differently from the Barack Obama administration. Under Trump, the United States may focus more on domestic issues and pay less attention to foreign policy.

If that were to happen, the US would have to make major adjustments to its global resource allocation, both on the economic and military fronts.

To honor his promise to improve domestic infrastructure, create 25 million jobs in the US and fight terrorism in a more radical way, Trump may choose to spend less on projecting US power in the Asia-Pacific region and use the funds and resources so saved to fight terrorism in the Middle East and address domestic woes. That will mean a major departure from the Obama administration that has painstakingly pushed its "pivot to Asia" strategy by focusing 60 percent of its military strength on the Asia-Pacific while phasing out its military presence in the Middle East.

China-U.S. Power-Sharing Possibilities

The Possibility of Power Sharing between China and the US: 

Implications for Japan's national interests 

Koji Yoshino 

SEPTEMBER 2016

This paper examines the foreign policies of the US and China from the perspective of their respective militaries and economies. It addresses the options for future Sino-US relations in the Asia-Pacific region, in the context of preventing their rivalry from escalating into conflict, with a particular focus on the concept of a power-sharing arrangement, such as a ‘concert of Asia’ as has been proposed by Hugh White. The paper argues that while such an arrangement could assist in stabilizing the Sino-US relationship, it would not be an appropriate solution for Japan. In part, that is because a ‘concert of Asia’, as currently proposed, does not provide a solution to the ongoing tensions between Japan and China over disputed territories. It is also highly unlikely that Japan would accept any arrangement that requires it to relinquish its security treaty with the US, and to re-emerge as a self-reliant military power, potentially armed with nuclear weapons.

Read the essay here

China can assuage neighbors in Trump era

By Ding Gang, Global Times, 2016/11/16 

A spate of uncertainties erupted as soon as Donald Trump stunned everyone and swept the US presidential election. Nobody knows what this entrepreneur-turned-president-elect will do after he swears in. Will he fulfill his commitments he made during the campaign, many of which are horribly disruptive?

Trump is not personally the cause of this uncertainty, even though he is probably the most controversial president-elect the US has ever had. Trump's ascension and his election is a footnote to the highly volatile era we live in.

The world order is in transformation. The old leadership dominated by the US and Europe is diminishing, leaving a power vacuum in the global framework of governance. 

Trans-Pacific Trade Deal ‘Dead,’ But Regional Military Ties Unaffected

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement involving the United States and 11 other countries should be considered "dead," the head of the US military's Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris, said Tuesday.


Harris emphasized, however, that the trade deal's demise does not spell the end of regional military-to-military interaction. He said the United States would "figure out a way" to pursue those aspects of the TPP that are important. 

"TPP is a trade issue that had some interest for those of us in uniform, the cybersecurity aspects of it, maybe the intellectual property aspects, and things like that," Harris told a conference sponsored by the publication Defense One. 

"I’ve been a supporter of TPP, but TPP, as far as I can tell, is dead." 

U.S. to maintain commitment to allies in Asia, admiral says

By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON

The U.S. military's top commander in the Pacific tried on Tuesday to reassure allies that Washington will maintain its commitment to Asia and maintain strong military relations with partners, some of whom are worried about President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy.

"I have no doubt that we will continue our steadfast commitment to our allies and partners in the Indo-Asia Pacific," Admiral Harry Harris, head of the military's Pacific Command, said at an event held by the publication Defense One.

"The need for and the value of American engagement in the Indo-Asia-Pacific is convincing and it has (been) proven over decades," Harris said.

US Pacific Commander Assumes N. Korea Has Nuclear ICBM

The head of the U.S. military's Pacific Command said Tuesday that he believes North Korea owns intercontinental ballistic missiles(ICBMs) that can hit the U.S. mainland and that the U.S. is ready to respond to the worst case scenario.

Admiral Harry Harris made the remark during a lecture in Washington D.C. hosted by defense media outlet Defense One, saying that he shares the same belief as former commander of the U.S. Northern Command, Admiral William Gortney.

In a congressional hearing in April, Gortney said that the North is assessed to be capable of launching an ICBM into space and sending it to the U.S. and Canada. 

US Military Plans to Dump 20,000 Tons of Heavy Metals and Explosives Into the Oceans

The US Navy has been conducting war-game exercises in US waters for decades, and in the process, it has left behind tons of bombs, heavy metals, missiles, sonar buoys, high explosives and depleted uranium munitions that are extremely harmful to both humans and marine life.

Truthout recently reported that the Navy has admitted to releasing chemicals into the oceans that are known to injure infants' brains, as well as having left large amounts of depleted uranium in US coastal waters. Now, the Navy's own documents reveal that it also plans to use 20,000 tons of heavy metals, plastics and other highly toxic compounds over the next two decades in the oceans where it conducts its war games.

Pacific Pathways ‘unsustainable’ with current funding sources, GAO says

By WYATT OLSON | STARS AND STRIPESPublished: November 14, 2016

U.S. Army Pacific is struggling to increase and maintain financing for its 3-year-old Pacific Pathways initiative, according to a federal report that called current funding sources “unsustainable.”

Pathways has roughly doubled the Army’s costs of individual exercises that constitute the initiative which deploys battalion-size task forces into the region for 90-day stints, said the Government Accountability Office report released Monday.

Pathways strings together existing bilateral exercises held in countries such as South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.