[2017-05-23]









West European countries are now intensifying their military inroads into the Asia-Pacific region. Why?
Unprecedented
West Europeans’ advance into the Asia-Pacific has drawn the attention of the international community.
France and Britain set up a platform for defence and foreign ministerial meeting respectively with Japan in 2014 and 2015, and Italy and France concluded military information security agreements respectively with Japan and Australia, while Sweden and Indonesia signed a defence cooperation pact. In January this year Britain and Japan sealed an agreement on mutual provision of goods and manpower.
Germany, Italy and Denmark joined the RIMPAC joint military exercises in the Pacific for the first time back in July 2016, and Britain staged a joint air drill with Japan and the anti-DPRK joint military exercises with the US and south Korea in November last year.
In December last year Britain announced plans for the flight of fighters in the air above the South China Sea and the deployment of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Recently, France stationed its troops on its territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The Britons and French, who withdrew their troops from the Asia-Pacific with the breakup of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization 40 years ago, are getting more pronounced in their bid to redeploy their forces in the region.
The aim?
As China and Russia as well as the US intensify maritime thrust into the Asia-Pacific, West European countries feel fretful at the thought that they would completely be sidelined in case they lose the control over major sea lanes such as the South China Sea.
China is set on building up its navy and air force through the development of strategic weapons and the building of aircraft carriers in order to make the sea its “inland waters” and break the US’ military edge in the West Pacific and Indian Ocean.
On the other hand Russia systematically commits its fleets to the Asia-Pacific and works to boost military cooperation with China in the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the East Sea of Korea. At the defence ministerial meeting with the ASEAN held in April last year Russia suggested maritime security as the main goal of cooperation. In January this year it agreed with the Philippines on conducting a military drill to demonstrate its presence in the region.
The US that issued a report on the maritime security strategy in August 2015, which stated that though the Chinese naval vessels in the region amounted to over 300, the warships of the US Pacific Fleet numbered only 182, is planning to concentrate 60 percent of its naval and air forces on the West Pacific by 2020.
Accordingly, West European countries fear they will be unable to defend their traditional interests in the Asia-Pacific by relying on the US only.
Therefore, they are raising voices that they should bolster up afresh the alliance with the US with the regional security issue as the keystone and display the “existence of the European navy” there. This may have been motivated by their intention to maintain the West-led ruling order with US backing.
Toeing the US line
The Trump administration advocating the “US-first principle” is now instigating West European countries to advance to the Asia-Pacific, touting naval buildup and strengthening of alliance. In its 2010 “new strategic concept” it described NATO as a global security organization and set the region as one of its major strategic direction. It began to involve Japan, Australia, New Zealand and south Korea in the “partnership with NATO” in 2012.
As part of its attempt to let NATO engaged in the military and security affairs in the Korean peninsula and its environs, the US worked to make sure the NATO secretary general visited south Korea in 2013 and discussed the NATO’s role in coping with the DPRK’s nuclear issue and cyber-attack.
The then US defense secretary, at the meeting of the NATO council in May 2014, advocated the “maintenance of balance between the capabilities of regional security and expedition”. Afterwards the NATO came out with a “rapid action plan” geared to promptly deploying its forces in any region around the world and expanded the rapid reaction force from 13 000 troops to 40 000 centring on West European countries.
The US views that the active push of West European countries into the Asia-Pacific and the building of their military capabilities through the mechanism of cooperation with the regional countries are useful for implementing the NATO’s “globalization strategy” and militarily intervening in the region under the name of NATO in case of an outbreak of crisis as it did during wars in Yugoslavia and Libya.
Facts show that West European countries’ advance into the region is an act of dancing to the tune of the US.
 
By Han Jong Chol PT