US forming new security alliance in Asia-Pacific

id a warning fro hina against ilitary alliances in the region, the nited tates is wor ing out a new security architecture in the sia Pacific with its strategic partners and treaty allies including the Philippines, official sources said.

he ne security arran ement is bein for ed as re ional tensions rise over hina s increasin ly a ressive moves to sta e its territorial claim over aters around it, includin nearly the entire South hina Sea.

e US bases, considered too e pensive by ashin ton, are out, accordin to the sources. nstead, the United States ill be or in ith spo es” in the ne security architecture as part of the pivot or rebalancin of US forces in the re ion. he sources told he

that aside from the Philippines, the spo es” ould include Australia and apan, and possibly Sin apore and hailand. ashin ton is also ooin alaysia as a strate ic partner.

Sin apore allo s US naval and air force troops to use the Semba an military base under an a reement concluded in . US forces also hold oint e ercises ith hai troops, althou h US aid has been suspended follo in the recent military coup in an o .

ast riday at a session on security durin the orld conomic orum on ast Asia, Admiral illiam oc lear , commander of US Pacific forces, noted the rapid ro th of military equipment” in the Asia-Pacific hich, if improperly used,” ould mean e have a bi problem.”

ith economies ro - in rapidly, he observed, the re ion has become the most militari ed” in the orld.

or business to o on, there has to be some ind of security architecture,” oc lear said.

e e plored this ne

“architecture at a subsequent closed-door WEF meeting with Philippine officials and experts on security in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

At the earlier session, ocklear emphasi ed that the US has maintained a strong security presence in the Asia-Pacific for 70 years and “the US military position is to welcome China as a partner.

“The US position is not to contain China, ocklear said as he pointed out that the two countries’ interests “converge on about 0 percent of issues.

But much of the issues outside that 0 percent, he said, “happen to be here.

Chinese President i inping issued a veiled warning last Wednesday against forging retrack gional military alliances aimed at his country.

i issued the warning as apan, the Philippines and Vietnam find common cause against aggressive Chinese moves to stake its territorial claim in the East China Sea and the so-called Nine-Dash ine in the South China Sea.

At the WEF session, ocklear described the Nine-Dash ine as “rather ambiguous as he called for a “baseline and maintenance of the status quo in disputed waters.

e also said a “winner-take-all attitude could not work in the region.

Told that Russia has its own “pivot to Asia, ocklear commented, “Whether Russia has the capability to become a significant Asia-Pacific power I think has yet to be determined but it certainly is something that has to be thought about.

Official sources said Russia’s incursion into Ukraine has raised concern in Washington that China may try something similar in staking its territorial claims, in the guise of protecting its citi ens overseas.

US President Barack Obama, in his visit to Asia last month, assured apan that Washington is committed to come to its defense in case of an attack on its territory, including the Senkaku Islands that China is also claiming. The US administered the Senkakus after World War II and later turned them over to Tokyo.

There was no such reassurance from Obama on shoals and reefs in the West Philippine Sea, within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic one, that China is also claiming.

Chinese forces have used water cannons to prevent the delivery of supplies to Philippine forces stationed on an old Navy ship grounded on Ayungin Shoal in the Spratlys.

Beijing has declared an Air Defense Identifi- cation one that Manila fears may be extended to the entire South China Sea.

The Philippines has brought the dispute to the United Nations for arbitration and delineation of its maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the aw of the Sea a move that has infuriated Beijing. Vietnam is said to be considering a similar move.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary aura del Rosario, who was at the WEF meeting, explained to the audience that seeking arbitration “is not a matter of us going against China but rather for us to get some clarity.

Manila and Washington are still fine-tuning the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was signed during Obama’s visit in Manila last month. The EDCA provides the framework for increased rotational presence of US troops in the Philippines.