Malaysia's correct strategic decision

By Dr Azmi Hassan

With the arms build-up by India and China, and America’s pivot policy, Malaysia is taking precautionary steps

TALK about containing China's influence via the United States' "pivot" policy has already had a chilling effect, especially for the Southeast Asia region.

The Philippines has been courting the US in its Spratly and Paracel Islands territorial dispute with China.

The expanded cooperation between the two allies not only created uneasiness among its neighbours but also warnings from Philippines separatist groups because of the fear that this would include the return of American military bases.

The so-called Pacific pivot policy is no doubt a continuation of broadening American strategic relations in the region to maintain a balance of power as China's influence grows.

Singapore, too, is already warming up to the latest American strategy.

The Changi naval facility, which is basically designed and built to accommodate the US Navy fleet operating in the Pacific area, will be a primary logistic stop.

Washington said it was considering plans to deploy advanced littoral combat ships (LCS) in Singapore in the coming years.

The presence of American LCS in the Straits of Malacca is a sensitive issue for the littoral states of Malaysia and Indonesia.

When Washington proposed to deploy LCS to patrol the straits in 2004 under the Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI), both Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta rejected the move and reiterated that control of the straits was the sovereign prerogative of both nations.

But the most keenly watched impact of US pivoting strategy emanated from India.

New Delhi is on the threshold of a huge military procurement and it is estimated that its defence spending in the next five years will reach an astounding US$100 billion (RM310 billion).

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) estimated that in 2010, India accounted for nearly nine per cent of the world's weapon imports and this made the country one of the largest arms importers.

Some argue that India is playing catch-up and using its growing economic wealth to overhaul its military arsenal that still consist of near-obsolete Soviet-era hardware.

This argument is also commonly employed by Beijing to justify its military spending in order to protect its economic interests.

But what's more interesting is that India's long-time rival Pakistan is not the main focus of its latest military procurement, since the navy and air force received the most generous budget.

Procurement of 126 multi-combat jet fighters, a nuclear-powered submarine and an aircraft carrier point directly to China because New Delhi is looking to strengthen its position not only along its shared borders but also the Indian Ocean.

India's need for a multi-combat fighter is, in part, based on its geographical size which spans several operational theatres with wildly varying topographies.

The possibility of a full-scale war between the two Asian giants is remote.

But due to the unsettled historical issues along its 3,500km common mountain borders and also the memory of the humiliating defeat of the Indian army during the brief 1962 border war, New Delhi is preparing for the inevitable.

New Delhi is also apprehensive about Beijing's extended influence in South Asia and the development of harbour facilities in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar is a direct inference that China has some big plans for the Indian Ocean.

Both nations are no doubt building and fortifying their "blue water" navies to protect key shipping routes that are critical to their future energy needs.

With this development, Malaysia should take corrective and precautionary measures since the Indian Ocean is only a short distance from the highly contested and congested South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca -- not that Malaysia should also pursue a military spending spree since India and China are in a totally different league.

But the acquisition of two Scorpene class submarines KD Tuanku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Abdul Razak and the addition of six LCS in a few years' time points to a correct strategic decision on our part.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in 2005 had freed the Royal Malaysian Navy from the coast guard role. The latter can now focus on its core business -- its military role and possibly, a true "blue water" RMN.

Dipetik dari - New Straits Times


US formally offers 2nd warship to AFP

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines - A top military official bared yesterday that the United States has formally offered to the Philippines a second warship that is expected to boost the country’s territorial defense capability.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said the US sent last week a letter notifying them about the availability of another US Coast Guard cutter, Dallas.

“They (US) sent a letter offering us formally (the ship). They are telling us this is available and their government has approved (the giving of the ship to the Philippines). They are asking us if we are interested,” Pama said.

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expected to reply to the letter next week.

“We will respond to the letter and tell them that we are interested. Once they receive that, the formal, detailed discussion would start,” Pama said.

The Navy chief said the transfer of the warship might be held in May if discussions run smoothly.

“If the talks are continuous and smooth flowing, we are looking at a formal transfer to be held in May,” Pama said.

The transfer cost would be funded by proceeds from the Malampaya natural gas project off Palawan that the Department of Energy will provide.

Officials have said the transfer cost for the cutter Dallas would be close to the P450 million spent for the first Coast Guard cutter that the Philippine Navy acquired last year.

The first Coast Guard cutter that was converted into the BRP Gregorio del Pilar was acquired from the US Coast Guard last year to improve the Philippines’ territorial defense capability.

The Gregorio del Pilar is the Navy’s first Hamilton-class vessel and was acquired under the US Foreign Military Sales program.

The ship is 380 feet long and is now the Navy’s largest ship. The ship is currently deployed in Palawan since Dec. 23 to secure the country’s natural resources.

The Philippines deployed the ship amid a territorial row over the Spratly Islands, an area in the West Philippine Sea that is rich in mineral and marine resources.

The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan claim either part or the entire Spratly Islands, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute in the region.

Last November, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her government is ready to provide a second war ship to the Philippines.

Clinton, who visited Manila to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty, said the US would remain “in the corner” of the Philippines, its “trusted ally.”

Early this month, US Rep. Ed Royce said the ship “should soon be on its way to Manila” and that the review process for its transfer would be completed soon.

Dallas is a weather high-endurance cutter and has features similar to that of Gregorio del Pilar.

The US Coast Guard had used the ship for drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, search and rescue, living marine resources protection, and defense readiness.

The ship can accommodate up to 180 officers and sailors.

Dipetik dari - The Philippine Star


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