The Roles of Regional States
Peacetime Roles
The roles of protection of shipping including surveillance, search and rescue (SAR), and law enforcement within respective areas of responsibility can appropriately be borne by the regional states. They should also provide the United States with support for maintenance of its forward presence.
As stated in East Asian Strategic Report 1998, US bases in Japan and Korea remain the critical component of US deterrence in the region. These bases enable the United States to respond more rapidly and flexibly in other areas. In this context, host nation support (HNS) rendered by both Japan and Korea is a great contribution toward US forward presence.
A series of access agreements and other arrangements between various Southeast Asian countries and the United States has supported continued US military engagement. These arrangements, including port calls, repair facilities, training ranges and logistic support, have become increasingly important to the US forward presence. Also Australia has long provided key access to training facilities for the US forces.
The existence of such arrangements throughout the region underscores the increasing importance of Southeast Asia and Australia to regional security, and the commitment of these nations to a credible and potent US forward presence as a cornerstone of their security. Also, combined exercises with the US Navy remain useful for preparing multinational forces for such eventualities through both practice and the development of compatible equipment, communications, and procedures.
The Roles in Deterrence
Regional states should cooperate closely together with other nations which share the same interests in order to ensure the safety and freedom of navigation of their SLOCs. Particularly, in addition to the roles in peacetime, support for US efforts to deter and prevent conflict is another important role of the regional states.
When tension is heightened, combined exercises with the US Navy may enhance the credibility of the deterrence by demonstrating their capabilities of defending or destroying. A good example was provided by the two US carrier battle groups which deterred Chinese attempts to intimidate the people in Taiwan during the exercise of their democratic process in March 1996.
The Roles in Conflict Resolution
When a crisis can be neither prevented nor deterred, it is necessary to resolve the situation in a prompt and decisive manner. Regional states should support UN resolutions to restore peace and stability in the region in addition to carrying out their normal peacetime roles. They are also encouraged to participate in the international cooperative efforts under UN auspices.
Future maritime cooperation will require greater international consensus such as the UN seals. However, it is difficult to expect the UN to undertake measures whenever required. Thus, in conducting international peace-keeping operations, US forward-deployed forces will continue to assume the vital role for a significant number of operations for the foreseeable future. Regional states are expected to cooperate with the international peace-keeping operations when their national interests (safety and freedom of navigation) so dictate. Even though their forces are small or of limited capability, their presence adds value by increasing the legitimacy and credibility of the operations.
The Roles in Conflict Termination
In cases where the regional states take part in Peace-Keeping Operations (PKO), they should remain on-scene after the conflict resolution ends to enforce sanctions or to clear laid mines for safety of navigation. It should be noted that it usually takes a long period of time to ensure safety of navigation as the case after the Gulf War demonstrates. Multinational mine-warfare forces were engaged in combined mine-sweeping operations in the Gulf for a long time.
