Print

Mail

wiki links

Admiral Fargo on Asian security issues

Admiral Thomas Fargo spent nearly six years coping with security issues in Asia. First he served as commander of the US Pacific Fleet and then as commanding officer of all the US armed forces in the region.

In a recent interview, Fargo was upbeat about the surge of democracy in Asia and the evolution of Japan as a mature ally contributing to the security of Asia.

However, he was concerned that "miscalculations could occur on either side of the Strait," and was wary about how China would use its rising power.

The admiral, a submariner retiring after 35 years of service, contended that the US and its allies had made progress against terrorists, pirates, and drug smugglers in Southeast Asia.

"We've taken a lot of these folks off the street," he said, "but we aren't there yet by any stretch of the imagination."

Asked about changes on his watch, Fargo put democracy in Asia at the top of his list.

We've seen the emerging democracies mature and fledgling democracies take shape, he said, pointing to 14 elections in the Asia last year.

The "most obvious," he said, were the spring elections in Indonesia in which 87 percent of 147-million voters went to the polls to choose the nation's first directly elected president, plus a parliament and local officials.

Fargo said the parliamentary election in Malaysia in March "was a vote for moderation. It was a vote that says democracy and Islam and prosperity can flourish together."

When democratic processes work, he said, "that strengthens governance." He cited historical studies arguing that "democracies don't attack or fight other democracies."

The admiral said he was pleased with the professional relations that have developed between Asian and Pacific chiefs of defense during the annual gatherings, and at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore each year. In 1999, telephone conversations with Asian defense chiefs were rare; today Fargo talks with three or four a month.

Japan-US security relations have become "really excellent," he said. "We are very clearly seeing Japan mature in its security role."

Fargo credited Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi with forging Japan's security posture and said that was likely to continue after Koizumi leaves office, perhaps in two years.

Fargo was apprehensive about the Chinese, whose military capabilities will continue to expand.

"The question is how are they going to use their emerging status," he said, "and we don't know the answer to that."

Fargo was equally apprehensive that Taiwan's government did not understand or did not believe in the "Chinese red lines," such as formally declaring independence.

"The majority of the people in Taiwan are clearly in favor of the status quo," a separation from China but without a formal declaration of independence. The outcome of parliamentary elections in December reflected that view, he said.

Fargo did not agree with proposals that advocate withdrawing US forces from South Korea.

"I think we do need to be there," he said, although in smaller numbers than in the immediate past.

The admiral agreed, however, that South Koreans, among whom anti-Americanism has become rampant, were coming to a point where they must choose whether to continue their security treaty with the US -- or to see the alliance broken and the troops depart.
This story has been viewed 2485 times.