ASEAN-U.S. Relations: What Are the Talking Points?

8. ASEAN's Views on the U.S. Military Role in the Region

55 8 ASEAN’S ViEwS oN thE U.S. MilitAry rolE iN thE rEgioN1 Collin S.L. Koh Southeast Asia, being strategically positioned in the region, stands at the confluence of great power rivalry and, at the same time, faces a multitude of non-traditional security challenges as well as residual intramural rivalries. The Barack Obama administration on its part adopts a moderate, fiscally-sustainable security approach and is regarded to continue roughly similar military involvement in Southeast Asia. Obama’s policy also stresses multilateral cooperation and, in this regard, burden sharing. This is a welcome policy stance, but one that is also a cause for concern over the possible decline of the United States and its reduced commitment towards regional security. These concerns are largely unfounded. It is apparent that U.S. military commitments to the Asia-Pacific on the whole will remain consistent. This is illustrated in the professed intent by Washington to augment the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet — the linchpin of American military power in the region — in apparent response to China’s military rise and increased assertiveness, Korean Peninsula problems, and emerging non-traditional security (NTS) risks. 56 Collin S.L. Koh The basic foundations of the U.S. military role in Southeast Asia remain largely unchanged from the ones that existed under the Bush administration. However, U.S. military involvement may increasingly become issue focused, especially with regard to NTS risks. The Obama administration is focusing on NTS as the basis of sustainable military cooperation with ASEAN. This bodes well for capacity-constrained ASEAN. In the face of geopolitical uncertainties, ASEAN countries from the time of the Bush administration have been attempting to build up their own defence and security capacities. Intraregional defence and security cooperation also appear to have hastened, as seen in talks about the pooling together of nationallevel military capacities, primarily targeted at NTS issues, and ideas about formal military cooperation. Other than intensifying efforts in regional security cooperation, ASEAN continues to adopt a “business as usual” hedging approach, particularly in the accumulation of national military capacities, especially force-projection assets. The inherent risk is that these capabilities might pose a classic security dilemma, especially given the outstanding territorial disagreements in the region. To sustain U.S.-ASEAN military relations, the United States should continue to fill niche roles by leveraging its power-projection capabilities, especially in NTS contingencies. At the same time, it should encourage ASEAN to maintain non-provocative defence postures, allowing for sufficient deterrent and response capacity against NTS threats, while at the same time mitigating the prospects of a security dilemma. SEttiNg thE StAgE The November 2008 election of President Barack Obama appeared to foreshadow a new era in the United States’ Asia-Pacific security policy. One of the most notable aspects has been the increased interest evinced by the Obama administration to engage Southeast Asia. This has all been happening against the backdrop of an ever ASEAN’s Views on U.S. Military Role in Region 57 changing, unpredictable security landscape in the Asia-Pacific (including Southeast Asia), which warrants necessary adjustments of the U.S. military role in the region. Without doubt, the United States possesses the most powerful military capability in the AsiaPacific and this position, notwithstanding the emergence of potential competitors, will remain viable and continue to give Washington considerable leverage in shaping the regional security environment. Therefore, it is important to examine the prospects of future U.S. military roles in the region with respect to ASEAN — a regional organization which has significant influence on the implementation of Washington’s security policy in the broader Asia-Pacific. This is precisely what this chapter strives to accomplish. First, it shall briefly illuminate the contemporary security developments in the Asia-Pacific and the role of Southeast Asia in the whole equation. Then, it compares the role of the U.S. military in Southeast Asia under the Bush and Obama administrations, and ASEAN policy responses. Finally, their implications are discussed and some policy recommendations presented as the way forward for a sustainable U.S.-ASEAN military relationship. This chapter argues that the approach taken by the Obama administration, which underpins basic U.S. military commitments in Southeast Asia, is welcomed by ASEAN, but the regional grouping to date has maintained a “business as usual” stance and continues to beef up its capacities. ASEAN ANd thE EVolViNg ASiA-PAcific SEcUrity lANdScAPE The maritime geography...