*EPF211 05/16/00
Text: Pacific Fleet Commander Fargo on Role of U.S. Forces in Asia
(Naval forces to continue as enabler of collective prosperity) (1950)

U.S. naval forces will remain engaged in the Pacific region to "facilitate development of security communities" and to act as an "enabler" of collective prosperity, says Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Speaking before the International Asia Society in Hong Kong May 16, Fargo said that naval forces are often "the enabling vehicle to building better relationships among nations." Navy-to-navy exercises promote cooperation, dialogue, peaceful development and recognize shared interest, he said.

The United States, Fargo said, "is sincere in its hope for a closer and more cooperative relationship with China." He noted that navy-to-navy relations have been reestablished between the United States and China and successful talks were recently completed by the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working group. The U.S. Navy plans to conduct a ship visit to China some time later this year, he said.

"Such opportunities provide us with a better understanding of each other and allow us to focus on those issues we have most in common -- building a stable and prosperous Asia Pacific Region," Fargo said.

Following is the as-delivered text of Fargo's remarks:

(begin text)

Admiral Thomas B. Fargo, USN
Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
International Asia Society Luncheon
Hong Kong
16 May 2000
A Naval Role in Asia Pacific Prosperity

Amenities...Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the invitation to join you here today. It's been some time since I was last here in Hong Kong, and I am excited to be back. My first opportunity to visit this very special city was on my first ship, on my very first deployment to the Western Pacific in 1972. My father, also a Naval Officer for 30 years, had taken the time to write me a letter about this first visit and to introduce me to the friendships he developed over some 28 visits to Hong Kong. So it is good to be back and a particular pleasure to be with you today.

I have been in command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet for a little over 7 months. This my third trip to the Western Pacific in this period and I have to confess, I still have two more visits planned before I will feel like I have had a chance to meet and dialogue with all of our partners in this region. It is testimony to its sheer vastness, and the importance we attach to the nations of the Pacific Rim, that it just takes time. The good news is that once you have built or renewed the personal relationships that are so important, the Information Age we live in, allows us to sustain and nurture them in real time.

I know that VADM Walt Doran, Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, had the opportunity to talk to you in December about important regional issues and his view about both the constants and dynamics of this new century. I thought it was a superb speech and he covered the topic thoroughly and with clarity. This afternoon I thought I would further examine the challenges we all face in Asia Pacific and offer a few ideas on how we might navigate successfully past them.

In March of 1999, in the U.S. Navy's professional journal Naval Institute Proceedings, there was an article by Brigadier Robert Alan Fry of the Royal Marines. The title was "End of the Continental Century." The article was about the end of a century that was characterized by continental powers engaged in land wars, and the return to a former age of maritime predominance -- what he called a New Columbian Age.

He closes his article with the idea that "a maritime national strategy is the appropriate response to the emerging environment, and one that enjoys a resonance with the wider themes of history that characterize the end of the 20th century." I think he has it right.

And what is this emerging environment? I believe it is a broad realization that stability, peace, open trade and interdependence is the path to prosperity for all of the Asia Pacific nations -- including the United States, Hong Kong and China. It is truly our shared interest for the future.

Recently, ADM Dennis Blair, the Commander-in-Chief of our Joint U.S. Forces in the Pacific laid out a concept for security communities which has as its basis the development of shared interests among Asia Pacific countries. Peaceful, shared interests are inherently more conducive to the economic prosperity we all seek than falling back into the risky business of developing counter-balancing alliances to head off the advantages we see going to the other side. As Admiral Blair states:

--"Shared interests in peaceful development provide the foundation for building security communities. The process involves developing mutual trust through both dialogue and action. Dialogue provides the basis for understanding. Action demands a deeper level of cooperation."

--"Participation clarifies the shared interests and builds confidence in the intentions among the states involved. Shared success makes the process self-reinforcing."

We think naval forces have a very positive role to play in the development and maintenance of security communities. We have operated forward in the Pacific for generations -- as Walt Doran mentioned far back as the East India Squadron in 1835. As I alluded to earlier, it was my father's principle duty over many years during and after the second World War. And it has been mine for the past three decades. We have built relationships with our regional partners and trust with the leadership of many diverse populations. Nowhere is that more evident than here in the Western Pacific where our forward deployed Naval forces work to further those relationships while helping to provide the stability that is so essential to the economic well-being of this complex region.

In fact, when I look at the Asia Pacific we live in today it is pretty clear that if a nation with our economic interests is to play a constructive role in the stability and economic resurgence in the region, it must have a national strategy centered on a maritime component -- one that is structured to deal with the challenges inherent in an increasingly inter-dependent world.

Why do we believe that naval forces will play such a positive role in maintaining the stability and peace -- and thus economic prosperity of the region?

First, naval forces are often the enabling vehicle to building better relationships among nations. It is particularly comfortable for naval forces to operate together at sea and in international waters. The navy-to-navy relationship is many times the first step to building confidence. Exercises like CARAT - which stands for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training - and engages the majority of nations in Southeast Asia is an excellent contributor. Exchanges and Multilateral gatherings such as the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, Search and Rescue exercises with many countries including Hong Kong and the Biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise are all examples of how we further this concept. All promote cooperation, dialogue, peaceful development and recognize shared interest.

Naval forces have an expeditionary quality. A culture and a rhythm to move rapidly to where we are needed. "Expeditionary" implies a mindset and a commitment to fully integrate Marine, Navy and Coast Guard forces with those of other services and other nations. Such forces can be properly inserted into a situation, and then just as readily withdrawn. There is no residual force -- no lasting footprint.

A good example of the use of naval forces as a force for stability was the recent deployment of the amphibious carrier, USS BELLEAU WOOD in support of coalition operations in East Timor. Because we are accustomed to tailoring different capabilities to different situations, we were able to provide the right balance of forces to complement the efforts of our coalition partners. Naval forces give us a greater flexibility in how involved we get -- leading the coalition or providing, as was the case in East Timor, support for an effort led by another country or the United Nations. This is an increasingly important characteristic as we move towards greater multi-lateral engagement and response to regional issues.

Naval forces both capitalize on and protect the well-established principle of Freedom of the Seas -- key to much of our economic success. They are unique in that they enjoy access. Each ship, aircraft carriers in particular, provides a sovereign platform from which to act. This has been particularly important with regard to our operations, where the land basing of forces is not always feasible, nor at times desirable by our security partners. In a phrase coined by one of my predecessors, ADM Chuck Larson --- around the world, our operational strategy is one of "places, not bases" -- that is, we are not looking to build U.S. bases in Southeast Asia, but rather to be a positive presence throughout the region. And the flexibility and mobility of naval forces are uniquely capable for that mission.

We have shared interests with all of the countries of this region and that certainly includes China. The free flow of energy, countering illegal immigrant smuggling, drugs and terrorism, curbing the proliferation of nuclear arms and promoting peace in places as wide spread as East Timor and the Korean Peninsula, to name a few.

You may have seen a piece done on CNBC this morning on piracy. The thrust was a solution lies in joint patrols by countries astride Malacca Strait with help from United States. Clearly we view China as a nation which greatly benefits from a stable Asia Pacific region and we hold open the door for their participation in the formation of security communities in the region.

As Mr. Sandy Berger, the National Security Advisor to President Clinton, said in a recent address: "The United States is a Pacific nation. Our future is tied to Asia. And the stability of Asia -- economically, politically and militarily -- is inextricably entwined with the stability and direction of China."

The United States is sincere in its hope for a closer and more cooperative relationship with China. For example, military-to-military relations were recently reestablished between our two navies. Last month I hosted the PLA Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Shur, at both my headquarters and in my home in Hawaii. Additionally, our two militaries have just completed a very successful round of meetings in Beijing called the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working group. And later this year, we are anticipating that I will lead a US Navy ship visit to China and will go to Beijing for further talks. Such opportunities provide us with a better understanding of each other and allow us to focus on those issues we have most in common -- building a stable and prosperous Asia Pacific Region.

We maintain maritime capability to protect our vital interests and ultimately defend our nations. What we have found in times of relative peace is they also carry a very substantive role in the diplomacy of our country and the maintenance of its economic well-being. The Pacific remains, as always, a maritime theatre. There is no reason to believe that this will change and every reason to hope it will not. Rest assured, the United States Navy will continue to stay engaged -- to help our good friends keep the peace, to facilitate development of security communities and most importantly, and to act as an enabler of our collective prosperity.

Thank you.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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