US Accelerates Beefing Up Military Bases Across Asia-Pacific

U.S. military strategy has been focusing more and more on the Asia-Pacific region, where the Obama administration is deploying extra military resources. Meanwhile, former and potential military bases are of great interest to the U.S., of which the request by the U.S. to use Thailand’s U-Tapao Air Base serves as a good example.

Not Giving Up on Getting Access to Thai Military Airport

Thailand’s Cabinet held a conference on June 26, discussing the request of U.S. space agency NASA to use the U-Tapao Military Airport to conduct “atmospheric and climate studies.” Though it agreed to allow NASA to use U-Tapao, the Cabinet still forwarded the request to Parliament for a non-voting debate, in order to clear up worries about this project.

Thailand’s Cabinet insists that the project should be categorized as cooperation between scientific agencies. According to the Thai Constitution, the Cabinet has the final word on this issue and therefore no parliamentary approval will be needed. Suriyasai Katasila of the Green Political Group said the Cabinet was trying to lessen the pressure of disclosing details of the project and avoid future legal disputes. When the time comes, the Thai government will surely approve such cooperation with the United States.

The U.S. government also changed its previous tough attitude, saying that it is patient enough to wait for the project to go through the Thai legal process. Kristie A. Kenney, U.S. ambassador to Thailand, said that it was not too late to get the proposal passed at the end of June. The U.S. will not give up, even if negotiations on the project are prolonged until next year. The United States’ ambition for the use of the Thai Military Airport is obvious.

One Thai military officer told us that, besides NASA, the U.S. Navy is also interested in using U-Tapao Airport to establish a base for “disaster-relief operations.” Matichon, a Thai newspaper, commented that the U.S. once used U-Tapao as a military base for bombing neighboring countries. Even today, U-Tapao is where the Cobra Gold exercise is held. The purpose of using the airport may not simply be limited to disaster relief. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Navy plans to deploy the P-8A Poseidon, the newest anti-submarine patrol and maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft, in the Pacific region. The U.S. is currently seeking potential partners willing to purchase the aircraft.

There has been speculation that the U.S. request to use U-Tapao air base is to contain the rise of China and strengthen military cooperation with South Asian nations. Former Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said that the U.S. is pushing forward its back-to-Asia strategy. The use of a Thai airport by the U.S. is likely to worry neighboring countries. The Nation, a Thai newspaper, commented that “many countries are worried about potential security risks because the scope of the project can be extended to most regions of Asia, even to some areas of Russia. Information collected can be transmitted through satellite to U.S. military bases and battleships all around the Asia-Pacific region.”

Weaving a Large Military Web with Limited Financial Resources

U.S. military strategy has been focusing more and more on the Asia-Pacific region, where the Obama administration is deploying extra military resources. Meanwhile, those former and potential military bases greatly interest the United States. High-ranking American officials flocked to Southeast Asia, frequently visiting countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.

In Vietnam, the U.S. shows great interest in the Cam Ranh Bay. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Defense is still seeking the possible expansion of bases in the Philippines, including Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base. Singapore has agreed to allow the U.S. to deploy four littoral combat ships, of which the first will be deployed next spring.

Besides the Southeast Asian region, the U.S. is seeking to deploy new military bases in Australia and Japan. Though the U.S. agreed to reduce the size of its force in Okinawa, it is still planning to deploy thousands of Marines there, to reach its highest level since the Cold War. Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow on Northeast Asia, commented that it was not strange that the U.S. military strengthened its presence in Okinawa, since Okinawa was still crucial to the United States’ Pacific strategy.

Besides Japan, another important Pacific pivot for the U.S. is Australia. In addition to the 2,500 U.S. soldiers that will be placed there by 2016-2017, Australia is considering the development of Cocos Island as a U.S. military base that can be used to land unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

Dr. Bo Zhiyue, a senior research fellow from the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said that the U.S. is shifting military focus to the Asia-Pacific region and therefore it would broadly spread its military’s reach in the region. For the U.S., if it can deploy its military power around the world using very few financial resources, then why not? He commented that the U.S. reactivated many military bases that surrounded China not only because it wanted to promote its military power in the Asia-Pacific region, but also because it planned to establish a military alliance with China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia, which is so-called “acting with a hidden agenda.”

China’s Security Greatly Threatened

Though the U.S. will largely reduce military expenditures, it is said that the shift of the strategic focus and the infiltration of U.S. military bases are necessary moves to maintain the security of Asia and to balance China, which leads the United States’ allies to believe in its promises on the security of the Asia-Pacific region.

Brian Patrick McCartan, an associate research fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Nanyang Technological University, said that the United States’ actions had encouraged the continued presence of the U.S. military, which will counterbalance China. As long as such a presence is limited, ASEAN‘s member nations are willing to allow the continuing presence of the U.S. military. The U.S. and ASEAN both realize that the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in the Asia-Pacific will form an omnificent threat for China.

As to the member nations’ attitude towards the expansion of U.S. military bases, Zhiyue Bo believes that since the 1990s, the relationship between China and ASEAN has developed around mutual beneficial economic and business cooperation. With the huge growth of the Chinese economy, China’s military power has also improved accordingly, causing neighboring countries’ unease. Especially after the U.S. publicly interfered with the South China Sea dispute, the relationship that developed around mutual beneficial economic and business cooperation is distorted; peace and security became the core issues, rendering the Asia-Pacific region full of conflict and discord. Therefore, countries such as the Philippines will particularly welcome the expansion of the U.S. military presence.

McCartan believes that Thailand is a long-term ally of the U.S. and that the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam is also improving. However, since the stationing of a large number of U.S. military forces in Thailand and Vietnam from the 1960s to the 1970s is still branded in people’s memory, the two countries are both unlikely to allow another long-term stationing of U.S. military forces in addition to the current port visits, military training and periodic joint military exercises.