map, poring over satellite images in readiness for an amphibious raid on Hawaii's most populous island Oahu.
Although only a drill, it represented a glimpse of
cooperation and integration among non-Chinese amphibious forces in Asia
that the United States is belatedly encouraging.
A senior U.S. official told Reuters the-first-of-its-kind
gathering also signifies a nudge towards containing China, as Beijing
grows increasingly assertive in pushing its territorial claims in the
South China Sea.
The shift has left supporters of engagement with China "under
pressure", said the source, who declined to be identified because he was
not authorized to speak to the media.
Early on Tuesday,
the foreign amphibious commanders participating in the PACOM Amphibious
Leaders Symposium (PALS), boarded Osprey tilt rotor aircraft at Hickam
air base, near Honolulu, for a 20-minute ride over the tropical seas
around Oahu to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex and other vessels
for a demonstration of American marine muscle.
"I don't think China can match the complexity," said
Martin Sebastian, head of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, in the
hangar deck after a tour of the 40,000 ton, 266-meter Essex.
A U.S. spokesman said China was not invited to the meeting
because doing so would have contravened a law prohibiting
military-to-military exchanges with China at such events.
China joined in U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval
exercises last year with more than 20 countries, but was limited to
things like humanitarian relief and search and rescue operations.
Tuesday's exercise had only a military objective; to land a
marine units on a beach by boat and helicopter and destroy the
fictitious training camp of an insurgent group.
MARITIME TENSIONS
The drill, involving Ospreys, Harrier jump jet aircraft,
armored vehicles, B-52 bombers and hovercraft, follows a two-day visit
to China by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that was dominated by
concerns about Beijing's territorial ambitions.
Recent Chinese reclamation work has stoked tensions in the
South China Sea, where Beijing is building man-made islands around
seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago that are also claimed by the
Philippines and Vietnam.
With a force of around 12,000 marines that it can rapidly
expand in times of conflict, China, say military experts, represents a
formidable potential foe.
The United States maintains a presence of some 80,000 troops,
almost half its strength, in Asia, most on Japan's Okinawa island at
the edge of the East China Sea.
Better integrating the amphibious operations of
non-Chinese forces in the Asia-Pacific represents an arduous challenge.
Capabilities vary from country to country, gear, including
communications, is not interoperable and funding is scarce.
"Capabilities haven't developed as quickly or as fully as
they might," said Grant Newsham, a former Marine liaison officer to
Japan's Ground Self Defense Force, who attended the meeting.
"The Symposium
will hopefully coalesce these ongoing but somewhat disjointed efforts
towards amphibious capability."
Inter-regional rivalries are another hurdle to cooperation.
For example, one participant, who asked not to be
identified, said cooperation between Japan and South Korea, which has
about 25,000 marines, was impossible because Seoul might one day have to
defend territory also claimed by Tokyo.
For some checking out the U.S. military hardware,
America's enthusiasm to forge more capable amphibious forces in the
region could provide a more immediate benefit by helping prepare for
natural disasters such as super typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than
6,000 people in the Philippines 2013.
"It will help enhance the capability we should have," said
Alexander Lopez, a Philippine vice admiral. The U.S. "is a big brother
for the region".
Source: Reuters
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