Here is an article that will help
to balanced out the frightening thoughts of an arms race in Asia -
as seen from a third party's point of view.
Singapore: An important link in U.S.
Navy forward presence
Sea Power, Dec 1999 by Prina, L
Edgar
From the end of World War II, through the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts and Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy
maintained a key base in the Philippines, one that played a major
role in support of the national strategy aimed at peace and
stability in the Western Pacific. But when, in 1992, the Philippine
Senate rejected an agreement that would have extended the U.S. stay
at the Subic Bay base, the Navy had to move out within three
years.
The question then became this: Could the loss of Subic, which had
contributed so much to the training and readiness of U.S.
forward-deployed forces, be offset by making arrangements with
other countries for access to bases within their borders? The
answer, of course, has been "not entirely." Subic was special. But
after the Navy terminated its presence there in 1992, the United
States concluded a series of access agreements and other
arrangements with its Southeast Asian friends and allies who have
wanted a continued U.S. military presence in the area.
Important among these countries is Singapore, a prosperous
island-nation with a population of three million-and a deep harbor.
It sits astride the junction of the Pacific and Indian Oceans near
the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Singapore was the site of
a major British Royal Navy base for more than a century-until
Imperial Japanese Army forces, led by Gen. Tomoyaki Yamashita, "the
Tiger of Malaya," captured it in 1942, in the early days of the war
in the Pacific. Singapore became an independent nation within the
British Commonwealth in 1964. The majority of its population is
ethnic Chinese.
The arrangements Washington has made with Singapore include the
privilege of port calls, the use of repair facilities and training
ranges, logistic support, and participation in combined naval
exercises. As the U.S. Defense Department noted in its East Asian
Strategy Report last year, these arrangements have become of
increasing importance to the U.S. presence overseas. For example,
Singapore announced in early 1998 that its Changi Naval Station,
which will be operational in the year 2000, would be available to
U.S. naval combatants. The station includes a pier that can
accommodate U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
When Defense Secretary William S. Cohen visited Singapore in
October 1999, he and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and his deputy,
Tony Tan, discussed the importance of the Changi port expansion to
the U.S. naval presence in the region. Cohen visited Changi, where
land is being reclaimed to push the port further out to sea. "This
is a sign of the strength and scope of our security partnership,"
he told reporters. "The United States is grateful for Singapore's
support."
Prime Minister Goh enunciated the view of most members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during his meeting
with President George Bush in early 1992. He said that a
substantial U.S. economic and security presence was needed to
maintain a stable balance of power in the region, and that peace
was the dominant factor that had permitted ASEAN states to expand
their markets, especially to the United States.
The Pentagon has valued Singapore's cooperation for years. Its East
Asian Strategy Report, cited above, had this to say: "Singapore has
been Southeast Asia's leading advocate of a continued United States
military presence. Singapore actively searches for ways to keep the
United States engaged in the region, whether in multilateral
institutions, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Regional Forum, or by expanding U.S. military-access opportunities
in Singapore itself."
According to the Report, even before the United States began
negotiations with the Philippines over the Subic naval base in the
early 1990s, Singapore offered to conclude an access
agreement that would help disperse the U.S. presence in the region
and spread the political
responsibility of hosting American forces.
The 1990 Access Memorandum of Understanding has been instrumental
in sustaining U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. Although fewer than
200 U.S. personnel are permanently assigned to duty in Singapore,
the United States conducts a variety of naval and air training,
most notably fighter-aircraft deployments that occur approximately
six times a year. A naval logistics unit --Commander, Logistics
Group, Western Pacific (COMLOGWESTPAC)that was relocated from Subic
Bay assists in fleet support and coordinates bilateral naval
exercises in Southeast Asia. In addition to this logistics
center, which is headed by Rear Adm. Stephen R. Loeffler, the Naval
Regional Contract Center and six other agencies moved from Subic to
Singapore.
Copyright Navy League of the United States Dec
1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights
Reserved
