U.S. to Deploy F-35 Fighters to Ensure Effective Rebalancing Strategy

Published in Sina
(China) on 5 October 2012
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Nathan Hsu. Edited by Mary Young.
According to foreign news sources, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter revealed during a recent speech that the U.S. will begin to deploy its new F-35 stealth fighters to its base at Okinawa. Japanese media analysts believe that the Pentagon's plan arises from "broadening worries over Chinese armaments."

According to an Oct. 3 report by Japanese news agency Kyodo, Carter revealed the plan to deploy new F-35 stealth fighters to the U.S. Kadena Air Base (located in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture) during a speech given in Washington.

Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported on the following day that many believe the move by the U.S. to be the result of "broadening worries over Chinese armaments." The report claimed that as a response to the situation in China and North Korea, fighters will frequently be flown from U.S. territory to Kadena, and that they will be deployed there for approximately six months. F-22 and F-35 fighters both possess advanced stealth capabilities. At the moment it is still unknown whether the F-35s will be rotated in or deployed on a more permanent basis.

Apart from this, Carter spoke strongly in defense of the U.S. military's shift to the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Reuters report, Carter insisted in the speech that despite worries in the Pentagon about cuts to the defense budget, it still has the resources to implement the new strategy. "The Pentagon leadership is focused intently on executing the rebalance," said Carter. "We're watching every dollar, every ship, every plane, to make sure that we execute our rebalance effectively."

However, in the opinion of several experts at U.S. think tanks, the U.S. viewing China as a threat is unwise. Hong Kong's Sing Pao reported on Oct. 5 that at an event hosted by a Washington think tank on Oct. 3, former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger pointed out that future U.S. leaders' foreign policies toward China should not only focus on interests, but also recognize the existence of differences in fundamental values between the two sides. He also suggested that the U.S. should abandon its great power mindset and not believe that it has an answer to every problem. He added that the Chinese have governed themselves as a state for 4,000 years as the oldest country in history, that they have staggered forward for 3,800 years without help from the United States, and that viewing China as a threat is unwise, concluding by saying that the U.S. should not only resolve its differences with China, but also actively seek opportunities for genuine cooperation.


  【環球網報導 記者 譚利婭】據外電報導,美國國防部副部長阿什頓 卡特近日在一次演講中透露,美國今後將在美駐沖繩基地部署新型隱形戰機F35。日本媒體分析認為,五角大樓此項計劃是出於「對中國軍備擴張的擔憂」。

  據日本共同社10月3日報導,阿什頓 卡特3日在華盛頓發表演講時,表明了今後將在美空軍嘉手納基地(位於日本沖繩縣)部署新型隱形戰機F35的計劃。

  對此,日本《產經新聞》4日報導,據認為,美國將F-35部署在嘉手納,是出於「對中國軍備擴張的擔憂」。報導稱,為應對中國和朝鮮局勢,美國的戰機時常從本土飛至嘉手納基地並部署半年左右時間。F-22與F-35同樣擁有先進的隱形性能。目前還不知道F-35將採用輪換暫駐形式,還是採取常駐形式。

  此外,卡特當天極力為美國軍事重心轉向亞太作辯護。據英國路透社報導,卡特在此次演講中堅稱,儘管五角大樓對國防預算緊縮存在擔憂,但它仍擁有實施這項新戰略的資源。卡特說:「五角大樓領導人一心關注實施再平衡戰略。我們正關注每一個美元、每一艘軍艦、每一架飛機,以確保我們能有效實施我們的再平衡戰略。」

  不過,在一些美國智庫學者看來,美國將中國視為威脅並不是一種明智的做法。據香港《成報》5日報導,前美國國務卿基辛格3日在華盛頓出席智庫活動時指出,未來美國新領導人對中國的外交政策,不應只是強調利益,而應認識到雙方在根本價值觀上就有所不同,美國應該拋棄大國思維,不要認為自己知道所有問題的答案。他說,中國人治理自己的國家已經有4000年,是歷史最悠久的國家,他們沒有美國的幫助,蹣跚前行也有3800年的歷史,把中國視為威脅並非明智之舉,美方不應只是被動消弭與中國間的歧異,主動尋求與中國能真誠合作的機會,才是正確的方向。
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