2003 Pacific Symposium
“Toward a Durable Regional Security Strategy”
March 25-27, 2003, Hawaii
Proceedings Summary
The March 25-27, 2003 Pacific Symposium, held in Honolulu, examined reactions to the National Security Strategy (NSS) in the Asia-Pacific region and how the Strategy could be implemented more effectively. The symposium was attended by over 220 civilian experts and military officers from 35 countries in the region, including the participants in Class 1-03 of the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Studies. Panels explored implementation of the Strategy, national reactions to its key principles, the state of cooperation on combating terrorism and defusing regional conflicts in the region, and the prospects for advancing democracy, economic development, and other non-military elements of the strategy.
The following key points emerged from the proceedings:
1. Most participants noted that their governments welcomed the overarching principles of the Strategy - maintaining peace and stability and advancing democracy and prosperity - and the fact that the document reflects longstanding fundamentals of U.S. Asia-Pacific policy. However, there is also concern about how the United States plans to apply what the Strategy heralds as our "unparalleled military strength and great political and economic influence".
- Participants generally agreed that U.S. alliances, forward presence, and security cooperation efforts all enhance regional stability. The positive impact of PACOM's flexible approach to enhanced security cooperation was also reflected in discussion about terrorism and a number of other topics.
- There was considerable criticism about the way in which the War in Iraq was launched. Several speakers spoke of the Iraq "coalition of the willing" as thinly veiled unilateralism. Concern was voiced about the Strategy's advocacy of preemptive or preventative wars against certain states and threats, and the lack of clear criteria for its application. Some symposium participants discussed concerns that Iraq might be the beginning of a wider military campaign to eliminate non-democratic regimes.
- Several participants characterized as inconsistent U.S. use of force to promote democracy in Iraq, and declared doubts about Washington's true goals in Iraq and elsewhere because of continued U.S. cooperation with a number of repressive regimes in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
2. Participants lauded the remarkable progress that has been made in enhancing bilateral, regional, and interagency cooperation in combating terrorism. This cooperation has opened the door to more productive U.S. relations with China, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
- The Bali bombings in late 2002 were cited as bolstering regional consensus on the need to further strengthen counterterrorism cooperation.
- While disrupting Al Qaeda remains a priority, efforts to counter local terrorist movements remain important as well, since these groups can provide safe havens, support, and fertile recruitment grounds for Al Qaeda and other groups with global reach.
- There was a generally positive response to the Joint Task Force 510 briefing on Operation Enduring Freedom in the Republic of the Philippines, which was viewed as a successful example of integrating, training, counterterrorism operations, humanitarian relief, and civic action to undermine support for terrorists and increase the legitimacy of the host government.
| 3. There was considerable discussion of the importance of defusing the two most pressing conflicts in the region: the crisis on the Korean Peninsula and the tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
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- There was a general consensus on the need to promote dialogue, end terrorism, and build confidence between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Pakistan welcomes international engagement, including a supervised plebiscite and U.S. involvement. India, while more open than in the past to international involvement, still prefers to focus on Pakistan's clamping down on terrorism and implementing existing confidence-building measures.
- Participants agreed that the international community needed to continue to help Indonesia and the Philippines to combat terrorism and sectarian violence, which also pose less dramatic but important risks to regional stability.
4. U.S. efforts to build an international coalition to combat terrorism have had a generally positive impact on cooperation with allies and other powers in the region. That said, allies remain concerned about the fullness of consultations and whether the U.S. will use its power for a wider good or simply the advancement of narrow national interests.
- The war on terrorism and the North Korea crisis have strengthened Tokyo's support for the U.S.-Japan alliance.
- Meanwhile, the North Korean crisis, coupled with political and generational change and growing resentment with the size and operations of the U.S. military presence, has strained the U.S.-ROK alliance. Korean participants suggested that the ROK government needed to do a better job at home explaining the long-term value of the U.S. presence, even as it transformed its forces and planning capabilities to take on new national defense and regional security missions that would help lessen dependency on the U.S. and transform the Alliance into a fuller partnership.
5. Participants accept that the prospects are good for achieving the Strategy's goal of building the "infrastructure of democracy and good governance" in the region, but many noted that the Strategy fails to provide a blueprint for achieving these goals other than by enhancing economic development and application of foreign assistance.
- The Strategy's emphasis on democracy runs against the grain of traditional reluctance in Asia toward involvement in the internal affairs of another country. However, the past decade has witnessed a remarkable shift to greater pluralism in East Asia, and very few hard autocratic regimes have survived.
- While trends in the region point to a reduction of conflict, instability due to political turmoil, ethnic violence, poverty, and bad governance continues to threaten human security in many quarters of the region. Some populations, particularly in Islamic countries, have come to associate secular democracy and integration into the global capitalist economic system as a threat to their culture and fundamental beliefs. Elimination of poverty and despair are among the best conflict prevention measures and key to advancing human security and good governance.
- To mitigate the threats to stability posed by radical Islamist movements in the region, we need a strategy to convince Muslim communities that integration into the global economy can be achieved consistent with Islamic values and practices.
- China's ability to address its looming banking and fiscal crises, as well as to deal with unemployment, social unrest, and corruption, are key uncertainties in advancing its integration into the global economy and regional economic and political stability.
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Last Updated: 1 May 03