“We (U.S. Pacific Command) employ a strategy which concentrates on partnership, readiness and presence. We think this is a blueprint for enhancing United States relationships. And we think we take advantage of a capability of our allies and regional partners to address challenges and leverage significant opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
We want to enhance our position as the indispensable partner with all of those in the region through sustained and persistent collaboration and cooperation, and by employing those forces that are necessary to strengthen the partnerships and support all those conditions which preclude the necessity for combat operations.” (Adm. Keating to the Senate Armed Services Committee)
Adm. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command testified, alongside the commanders of U.S. Forces Korea and U.S. Strategic Command, before the Senate Armed Services Committee Mar. 19. Read Adm. Keating’s statement, or view video of the testimony.
Adm. Keating discussed U.S. Pacific Command’s strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and answered a range of questions from the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that included: the status of military-to-military engagement with China; the recent incident with USNS Impeccable in international waters in the South China Sea; North Korea’s stated intent to launch a satellite in April; military-to-military interaction with India following the Mumbai terrorist attacks; status of the planned move of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam; and the importance of funding and training programs with Indonesia and other countries throughout the PACOM area of responsibility.
4 comments:
Is there a complete transcript available of Admiral Keating's statement to the Committee. Especially his answers to the questions concerning Guam
Thanks for your question. Complete transcripts of Congressional hearings are available online via subscription services, but are copyrighted, preventing us from posting them ourselves. However, in response to your comment, as Adm. Keating mentioned while delivering his prepared statement, the U.S. Government remains committed to the provisions of the Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI), which was codified by Secretary of State Clinton during her recent visit to Japan. Adm. Keating also noted that the signing of the International Agreement on Guam, with Japan, reflects our shared commitment to the realignment process. In testimony the same day in front of the House Appropriations Committee, Adm. Keating reiterated that while there will be challenges and road bumps, the initiative is still on track, as the Secretary of State has reaffirmed our national commitment, along with Japan's commmitment, to the DPRI, a subset of which is the agreed implementation plan concerning the move to Guam.
The hard copy version of ADM Keating's Testimony is available from the Senate's Website:
http://armed-services.senate.gov/
Under "Hearings - click on march 2009.
Thanks. The blog post itself also includes a link to the prepared statement, a copy of which has been posted to the PACOM website under the Commander's link (Statements & Testimony).
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