SPEAKING at the International Institute for Strategic Studies conference in Singapore last Friday, US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, made it clear that the US is undertaking a strategic shift in the disposition of its gigantic naval forces.
He opened stressing ‘the importance that the United States places in this dynamic and critical region of the world’, the Asia-Pacific region.
He added: ‘The purpose of this trip, and of my remarks today, is to explain a new defence strategy that the United States has put in place and why the United States will play a deeper and more enduring partnership role in advancing the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. . .’
The US intends to militarily secure the most strategic area in the world, from the Sea of Japan right round to the Red Sea and the Gulf.
He added: ‘In this century, the 21st century, the United States recognises that our prosperity and our security depend even more on the Asia-Pacific region. After all, this region is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies: China, India, and Indonesia to mention a few. At the same time, Asia-Pacific contains the world’s largest populations, and the world’s largest militaries. . .
‘Given these trends, President Obama has stated the United States will play a larger role in this region over the decades to come. . . We take on this role not as a distant power, but as part of the Pacific family of nations. . .’
As part of this family, and to cultivate the right family atmosphere, ‘As we expand our partnerships, as we strengthen our alliances, the United States-Japan alliance will remain one of the cornerstones for regional security and prosperity in the 21st century. For that reason, our two militaries are enhancing their ability to train and operate together, and cooperating closely in areas such as maritime security and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. . .
‘Another linchpin of our Asia-Pacific security is the US alliance with the Republic of Korea. . . this alliance has been indispensable, and I have made it a priority to strengthen it for the future.’
He added: ‘A critical component of that effort is the agreement announced last fall for a rotational Marine Corps presence and aircraft deployments in northern Australia.’
Panetta continued: ‘As the United States strengthens these regional partnerships, we will also seek to strengthen a very important relationship with China. . . We in the United States are clear-eyed about the challenges, make no mistake about it, but we also seek to grasp the opportunities that can come from closer cooperation and a closer relationship.’
He added: ‘I know that many in the region and across the world are closely watching the United States-China relationship. Some view the increased emphasis by the United States on the Asia-Pacific region as some kind of challenge to China. I reject that view entirely.’
However, alongside increasing military cooperation with Japan, South Korea and Australia, the US Navy by 2020 ‘will reposture its forces from today’s roughly 50/50 per cent split between the Pacific and the Atlantic to about a 60/40 split between those oceans. That will include six aircraft carriers in this region, a majority of our cruisers, destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships, and submarines. . . These forces are also backed up by our ability to rapidly project military power if needed to meet our security commitments. Therefore, we are investing specifically in those kinds of capabilities – such as an advanced fifth-generation fighter, an enhanced Virginia-class submarine, new electronic warfare and communications capabilities, and improved precision weapons.’
You have been warned. The US is preparing a massive attack on China to secure the Asia Pacific region, ‘on which its fate rests’, according to Panetta.
This US war plan directly arises out of the world crisis of capitalism. The only way out of this crisis for humanity is to put an end to the capitalist crisis through socialist revolutions to bring in world socialism.
