2. for regional navies: protection of shipping, including surveillance, SAR, and law enforcement within their areas of responsibility, and support to US forward presence by means of host nation support and / or access agreements.
The Role of the United States
Forward Presence
A visible US force presence in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrates firm determination to defend US, allied and friendly interests in the region. Only the US Navy has the capability to maintain sea control through out the Pacific. The US Navy is vital to regional stability and to keeping crises from escalating into full-scale wars.
Any attempt to assume the US role by such countries as China, Russia, India, or Japan is unlikely to be welcomed in the region In this regard, the 1998 East Asia Strategy Report released by the US Department of Defense in November 1998 reaffirmed the continuation of comprehensive US engagement including the presence of approximately 100,000 US military personnel in Asia.6
As to US naval forward presence, Admiral Jay L. Johnson, Chief of Naval Operations stated as follows:
There are four basic tenets to international security in today's world: prevention, deterrence, crisis resolution, and war termination. The underlying assumption of these tenets is that the US and its allies should not be forced into winning a war in an overwhelming (and expensive) fashion. Instead, it is much better and cheaper to resolve a crisis before it burns out of control. The forward-deployed US naval forces are always on-scene and ready for prevention, deterrence, conflict resolution, and termination.7
Prevention
The US Navy's role in peacetime engagement is to provide a forward presence in support of regional efforts to shape the security environment in ways that promote regional economic and political stability. US naval forces are engaged in the region in peacetime as a visible tool for peace and stability, and their global presence ensures freedom of navigation of international trade routes.
US forward-deployed naval forces support peacetime cooperative efforts to improve mutual understanding, confidence and respect among the navies in the region. Although the following experience did not involve the US Navy, it demonstrated well how naval presence works.
In 19991-93, a total of 78 piracy incidents were reported in the East China Sea, where foreign vessels (including Russian vessels) were boarded or shot at by (presumably Chinese) vessels having neither national flags nor ship names In late 1992 and early 1993, there was a substantial upsurge in incidents.
However, Russia deployed several naval ships to the area in mid-1993 with orders to attack any threats to shipping-whereupon such attacks promptly ceased.8
Deterrence
Presence does not prevent every crisis. When a crisis reaches a certain thresholds, active measures must be taken. Signalling with military forces is an important element in deterring aggression and preventing conflicts, and forward-deployed naval forces are a superb means of signalling capabilities and resolve to friend and foe alike. Deterrence is accomplished by putting potent combat power where it cannot be ignored, and by serving as a highly visible symbol of the overwhelming force the United States can deploy to defeat aggression.
Conflict Resolution
If a crisis is neither prevented nor deterred, prompt and decisive crisis resolution is imperative before the crisis threatens vital interests. US forward-deployed naval forces have a vital role in halting aggression early in a conflict.
Conflict Termination
The US Navy may remain on scene after a campaign concludes to enforce sanctions and to maintain a US presence for regional stability. Its most significant contribution will may be to prevent the next conflict entirely through forward presence for engagement and deterrence.
