SINGAPORE: The United States (US) plans to prop India for an enhanced rolein a region referred to until recently as Asia-Pacific. For America, herregional and international allies the region now stands rebranded as theIndo-Pacific. The reason to pull India into frame was put forward by the USDefence Secretary Jim Mattis here on Saturday by making an overt referenceto China when he said one country alone should not dominate the region.
Speaking at the Asia Security Summit, otherwise known as the Shangri-LaDialogue, the US defense secretary criticised Beijing’s military buildup inthe South China Sea and expressed readiness to promote the “Free and OpenIndo-Pacific Strategy,” which is upheld by President Donald Trump’sadministration.
Mattis also mentioned the recently released National Security and NationalDefense strategies and said both affirm the Indo-Pacific as critical forAmerica’s continued stability, security and prosperity. The US defensechief said they are aware Chine would face challenges and opportunities inthe coming years and offered to support Beijing’s choices if they promotelong-term peace and prosperity for all in this dynamic region.
“Yet China’s policy in the South China Sea stands in stark contrast to theopenness our strategy promotes; it calls into questions China’s broadergoals,” Mattis said and questioned the need for China to militarisefeatures in the South China Sea including the deployment of anti-shipmissiles, surface-to-air missiles, electronic jammers and the landing ofbomber aircraft at Woody Island.
“Despite China’s claims to the contrary, the placement of these weaponsystems is tied directly to military use for the purpose of intimidationand coercion. China’s militarisation of the Spratly’s is also in directcontradiction to President Xi’s 2015 public assurances in the White HouseRose Garden,” the defense secretary reminded. For these reasons, he saidthe US disinvited the Chinese Navy from the 2018 Rim of the PacificExercises “as China’s behaviour is inconsistent with the principles andpurposes of the RimPac Exercise”.
“We do not ask any country to choose between the United States and China,because a friend does not demand you choose among them. China should anddoes have a voice in shaping the international system, and all of China’sneighbours have a voice in shaping China’s role,” Mattis said.
Firing warning shots to Beijing was one aspect of Secretary Mattis’17-minute long speech. Wooing India for a leadership role in the region wasthe other. Reminding the audience of Prime Minister Modi’s keynote speechat the Dialogue on Friday wherein he underscored India’s role as a “leaderand steward in the Indo-Pacific region,” the retired general said the USvalued the role India could play in regional and global security. “We viewthe US-India relationship as a natural partnership between the world’s twolargest democracies based on convergence of strategic interests”.
He said the cooperation between the two countries is growing and extending“beyond the Indo-Pacific region”. To highlight his point he welcomedIndia’s continued contribution to stability and reconstruction inAfghanistan. “Standing shoulder to shoulder with India, ASEAN and ourtreaty allies and other partners, America seeks to help build anIndo-Pacific where sovereignty and territorial integrity are safeguarded,the promise of freedom fulfilled and prosperity prevails for all.”
Stressing the US priorities of “deepening alliances and partnerships” alongwith keeping the ASEAN centrality intact, the retired general saidcooperation with China is welcome “wherever possible”. He reminded the600-strong audience of European and Asian defense and security ministers,soldiers, defense contractors, risk analysts, diplomats, policy advisers,think tank gurus, academics and carefully chosen global delegates, of howUS President Thomas Jefferson sought to establish America’s presence in thePacific Northwest as a key component of the country’s policy. “America hasexpanded its engagement and deepened its connectivity across this regionever since,” he said and went on to up the ante by declaring: “Make nomistake: America is in the Indo-Pacific to stay.”
Promising continued support to Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea andJapan; he spoke about developing new partnerships with pivotal regionalplayers like Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. And he then mentioned SouthAsia saying the US is “strengthening our partnerships, particularly withIndia.”
Parts of General Mattis speech, however, sounded as a desperate attempt tosell American military hardware. Underscoring the need to keep thesea-lanes in the region open and operative for global good, the defensesecretary talked about the “interoperability” between the US military andregional forces. “This applies to both hardware and software, by promotingfinancing and sales of cutting-edge US defense equipment to securitypartners and opening the aperture of US professional military education tomore Indo-Pacific military non-coms and officers.”
The Shangri-La Dialogue is sponsored by the International Institute forStrategic Studies, a British think tank, and has taken place every year inSingapore since 2002.