U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s visit to Southeast Asia further strengthens U.S. relationship with ASEAN
The United States continues on the path toward regarding Viet Nam as a country, not an enemy. In early June, Hanoi welcomed another high-level U.S. official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
On June 2, Rumsfeld kicked off his first tour of Asia this year. He had three objectives: to attend the fifth Asia Security Conference (known as the Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore, to improve military ties with Viet Nam and to continue to improve U.S. relations with Indonesia.
“As the two important countries in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], Viet Nam and Indonesia can help improve U.S. relationship with ASEAN,” said Han Feng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
“Visiting Viet Nam is the most important task for him since military cooperation between the two countries has made progress to some extent,” Fu Mengzi, Director of the Division of American Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Beijing Review. This was Rumsfeld’s first visit to Viet Nam as secretary of defense. He is the second secretary of defense of the United States to visit the country after his predecessor, William S. Cohen.
Rumsfeld’s three-day visit on June 4-6 got a high-level reception from Viet Nam, a country that established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1995, two decades after the end of the Viet Nam War. He met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and National Defense Minister Pham Van Tra on June 5.
During their meeting, the two defense ministers affirmed that they would enhance their cooperation on the removal and destruction of unexploded ordnance and landmines in Viet Nam, the detoxification of chemical poisons left from the Viet Nam War in some localities, and the provision of information about U.S. soldiers missing in action. They expressed their will to continue the exchange of military delegations at different levels.
Before arriving in Hanoi, Rumsfeld said a U.S. Navy ship would visit the country this summer, and Viet Nam would send pilots to the United States for English language training. He also congratulated Viet Nam on its socioeconomic achievements.
According to some observers, Rumsfeld’s purpose in visiting was to promote U.S.-Viet Nam relationship, especially military exchanges.
Tao Wenzhao, a researcher at the Institute of American Studies under the CASS, said after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the United States put almost all its effort into the antiterrorism campaign and neglected its influence in Southeast Asia. At the same time, China’s relationship with these countries has expanded. Fearing that it would lose its influence in the region, the United States is trying to boost its relationship with these countries.
Among ASEAN members, the United States has a stronger military relationship with the Philippines and Singapore. Its relationship with Viet Nam is comparatively weak. “The United States hopes to further its relationship, including military one, with Viet Nam to increase its influence in Southeast Asia,” Tao noted.
Viet Nam also noticed U.S. intentions in this regard. During Rumsfeld’s stay, a Vietnamese official indicated that military exchanges with the United States should not violate Viet Nam’s relationship with China.
Military exchanges between the two countries make the international community wonder whether the United States will station troops in the Southeast Asian country, especially in Cam Ranh Bay, a sensitive military area in Asia. Though Rumsfeld denied that at the Shangri-La Dialogue, experts still believe the United States has been watching the bay for a long time and may reach an agreement with Viet Nam on leasing the facilities at some point in the future.
“The United States wishes very much to station troops in Cam Ranh Bay, but under the current situation, it is very hard for it to do so,” said Han with the CASS.
ASEAN members have signed an agreement to gradually reduce foreign troops stationed in their territories. Under such a situation, ASEAN members, especially Viet Nam, will be very cautious about inviting foreign troops.
Meanwhile, because of the highly sensitive nature of Cam Ranh Bay, “it is inappropriate for the United States to raise the idea of stationing troops in Cam Ranh Bay at this time,” according to Han.
After former U.S. President Bill Clinton normalized relations with Viet Nam in July 1995, the relationship between the two countries has been leaping forward. In 2000, Clinton visited Viet Nam.
In 2002, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command Admiral Thomas Fargo visited Viet Nam. According to U.S. media, it was during that visit that the United States expressed its wish to lease Cam Ranh Bay.
Cam Ranh Bay was an important military base for the United States during the Viet Nam War. After U.S. troops retreated from the bay after the war, the Soviet Union occupied the base. In 2001, Russia abandoned the base because of insufficient financial support.
“On the issue of Cam Ranh Bay, Viet Nam will take into consideration China’s attitudes and will not launch military exchanges with the United States without misgivings,” said Fu of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
New tone on China
Before Rumsfeld landed in Viet Nam, he attended the fifth Asia Security Conference on June 2-4. The most impressive event at the annual conference has been the verbal jousting among China, the United States and Japan. People still remember the intense arguments among the three countries in the fourth conference last June. Rumsfeld and his Japanese counterpart Yoshinori Ono strongly criticized China’s military development and increase in military expenditures while the head of the Chinese delegation, Cui Tiankai, insisted China’s military expenditures were reasonable.
The Asia Security Conference was initiated by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and sponsored by the IISS Asian Office in Singapore. The conference is held annually in late May or early June, with the first conference held in 2002.
Before this year’s conference, all representatives from more than 20 countries cared very much about what Rumsfeld would say and particularly what would he say about China. This year, he obviously adopted a mild tone while talking about China.
He noted that it is U.S. Government’s view that China is an important stakeholder in the world system, and the two countries have been promoting their political, economic and military cooperation to enhance mutual understanding.
“Rumsfeld’s statements indicate that China’s image as a responsible stakeholder has been recognized by the United States,” said Fu.
Overall, Rumsfeld expressed his dissatisfaction toward China on two points at the Shangri-La Dialogue. One relates to China’s military expenditures and the other is that China did not send its defense minister to the conference. Last year, the Chinese delegation included Cui, who was Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a senior colonel of the People’s Liberation Army. This year, the Chinese delegation was lower ranking, consisting a counselor from the Foreign Ministry and a PLA lieutenant colonel.
In response to a question, Rumsfeld noted that he personally hoped China would send a high-ranking delegation to the conference because it covers various security issues in the Asia-Pacific region, including security in the Strait of Malacca. According to him, high-ranking Chinese officials should not be absent from such an important meeting. However, some participants said it is impossible for China to send high-ranking delegations to the conference if it is criticized every year at the conference.
While talking about China, Rumsfeld tried to avoid using the word “threat.” Instead, he used the word “mysterious” several times. At a press conference, he even denied having said that China is a threat.
Yan Xuetong, Director of the Institute of International Studies of Tsinghua University who participated in the conference, pointed out two reasons for Rumsfeld’s new tone on China. “China has won trust from other countries through its behavior in recent years. The image of one country does not rely on other countries’ promotion or vilification, but on its own behavior.”
According to Yan, the Chinese military did not have enough exchanges with foreign countries in the past. But now, it actively participates in international peacekeeping activities and joint military maneuvers and strengthens its ties with its counterparts from other countries. All these give deep impressions to the international community that China is a reliable country militarily.
Through conducting exchanges with China, many countries in the Asia-Pacific region have gotten an understanding of China. In the past, these countries thought China was weak and in a competitive relationship with them, and they easily believed the so-called “China threat.” Now, they have gradually realized that China is becoming a world power with no intention to compete with them and the country should be a participant in maintaining Asian security.
Jia Qingguo, Associate Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University who also attended the conference, stated that the United States is changing its attitude toward China because it hopes to absorb China into the Asia Security Conference, the only multilateral security dialogue mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. China plays important roles in this region and an Asian security conference without China is incomplete.
Meanwhile, the United States hopes to have contact with China to understand China’s consideration in security strategy, establish a link with China and increase mutual trust. Thus, the United States can better understand China and make full preparation for the country’s future development.
Enhancing antiterrorism efforts
Rumsfeld got a high-level reception in Singapore and Viet Nam, but got a dash of cold water during his one-day visit to Indonesia, the last leg of his Southeast Asian tour.
On June 6, Indonesia’s Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono bluntly taught his U.S. counterpart a lesson on Washington’s antiterrorism policy. Sudarsono said it was best to leave antiterrorism measures to local governments and “not to be too overly insistent about immediate results arising from your perceptions about terrorists.”
“It’s important to us because as the world’s largest Muslim country we are very aware of the perception, or misperception, that the United States is overbearing and ... overwhelming in every sector of life in many nations and cultures,” he said.
He then told a news conference with Rumsfeld at his side, “So I was telling the secretary just recently, just two minutes ago, that your powerful economy and your powerful military do lend itself to misperception and a sense of threat by many groups right across the world, not just in Indonesia.”
Indonesia is the biggest antiterrorism partner in Southeast Asia and Sudarsono’s statements put Rumsfeld in an embarrassing position. The United States previously announced that it was resuming its military relationship with Indonesia, a timely help to the country with poorly equipped armed forces.
Rumsfeld interjected, saying that the minister’s points were “not unreasonable,” but he insisted that the United States had encouraged other countries to participate in the war on terror however they saw fit.
Experts say Sudarsono’s remarks will not influence the development of the bilateral relations. Indonesia needs U.S. military and financial aid in its future development while the United States needs Indonesia’s support in its antiterrorism campaign and effort to maintain security in the Strait of Malacca.
Indonesia used to have comprehensive political, economic and military cooperation with the United States and the United States was Indonesia’s largest supplier of military equipment. However, Washington broke off its military ties with Jakarta over accusations of human rights abuses by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor in 1999, and later imposed an arms embargo on Jakarta. Last November, taking into consideration its own strategic interests and global antiterrorism campaign, Washington announced that it was lifting the arms embargo and resumed military cooperation with Jakarta.
Rumsfeld stressed the importance of developing U.S.-Indonesian relationship and promised to strengthen cooperation in the military sector and assist countries along the Strait of Malacca in cracking down on piracy.
However, Indonesia did not make concessions in securing the world’s busiest waterway, reiterating that this issue was related to the sovereignties of the bordering states, and foreign forces could only provide intelligence information and the necessary equipment.