Gates: U.S. Asia-Pacific presence to grow

SINGAPORE, June 6 (UPI) -- While the number of U.S. service personnel stationed in Asia may drop, the United States will increase its military activity in the area, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Singapore.

At the same time the United States will seek to boost military cooperation with Asian nations, including more joint military exercises, Gates said in a speech to the 10th Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual Asian security summit hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"We are evaluating a range of options, including increasing our combined naval presence and capabilities to respond more rapidly to humanitarian disasters," he said.

In particular, the United States and Australia are considering expanding training exercises for amphibious and land operations, which could include the navies of other nations.

"In Singapore, we are strengthening our bilateral defense relationship within the context of the Strategic Framework Agreement and pursuing more operational engagement, most notably by deploying U.S. littoral combat ships to Singapore," Gates said.

"We are examining other ways to increase opportunities for our two militaries to train and operate together, to include pre-positioning supplies to improve disaster response, improved command and control capabilities and expanding training opportunities to help prepare our forces for the challenges both militaries face operating in the Pacific."

The U.S. Navy also will increase its port calls, Gates said in his last address to the annual conference before he retires at the end of the month.

"These types of activities not only broaden and deepen our relationship with friends and allies but help build partner capacity to address regional challenges," he said.

His attendance at the conference, which was attended by 18 other regional defense ministers, including China's, marked Gates' seventh trip to the Asia-Pacific region in 18 months.

Military tensions exist, Gates said, but the United States has maintained good dialogue with the militaries of many countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Indeed, one of the most striking, and surprising, changes I've observed during my travels to Asia is the widespread desire across the region for stronger military-to-military relationships with the United States, much more so than during my last time in government 20 years ago."

He said the United States remains committed to resolving conflict without the use of force.

In recent years, regional military tensions have focused on maritime disputes as access to natural resources -- both fishing and energy-related -- are becoming more important, making even rocky outcrops of significant territorial importance.

In May China said it will boost its maritime patrol service by at least 10 percent in the face of increasing incursions into what it said are Chinese territorial waters.

A particular source of regional tension are the potentially resource-rich Paracel archipelago and the more southerly Spratly Islands -- a collection of more than 700 reefs, atolls and cays whose total land mass is measured in several square miles, depending on tides.

Apart from China, the Spratly Islands, or some of them, are claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.

Vietnam recently said it will do everything in it power to protect its coastal waters after China allegedly interfered with two of Hanoi's seismic survey vessels.

During the conference, Gates met with several officials, including Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie, before flying to Afghanistan on Saturday to assess U.S. progress in the 10-year war.

On his 12th visit to Afghanistan as defense secretary, Gates met with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Gates said the Afghans must take more responsibility for their own security ahead of the planned withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Karzai said he hopes the Taliban will be "rethinking" its relationship with al-Qaida in the wake of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan last month.