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发帖数: 10330 | 1 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/25/pentagon-c
Pentagon builds forces in Pacific, eyes China
Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 6:25 p.m. EST November 25, 2013
Tinian
(Photo: None)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is fortifying bases in the Pacific and looking to
revive World War II-era air bases as part of an effort to survive a Chinese
missile attack that could wipe out critical installations on Okinawa and
elsewhere, military records, interviews and congressional testimony show.
The strategy indicates the evolution of the administration's shift toward
Asia, which includes the creation of a growing base in northern Australia.
Chinese missiles have been a preoccupation of Pentagon planners who worry
they could be used as a threat to deny access to the region by U.S. ships,
planes and troops.
Chinese ballistic missiles — termed anti-access, area denial weapons —
mean that virtually every U.S. base in the Pacific is under "heavy threat,"
said Michael Lostumbo, director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Study. A
RAND report found that 90% of the bases were within 1,080 nautical miles of
China, the distance it defined as being under heavy threat.
"We compared threats in the Pacific region with other regions," Lostumbo
said. "The Pacific bases are all under threat if you are considering Chinese
ballistic missiles."
RAND identified three options for dealing with the threat: moving bases out
of missile range, hardening aircraft hangars and dispersing aircraft to
limit the damage any one attack could exact.
Pentagon strategists are re-examining bases such as Kadena on Okinawa
because its proximity to China makes it particularly vulnerable, a senior
officer said. The other reason to explore options, according to another
senior officer, is to disrupt planning by the Chinese military and keep it
guessing. Both officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to speak publicly.
Among recent developments with U.S. forces in Asia:
•Darwin, Australia. The Marine Corps is beefing up its presence. The
first deployment of 200 Marines occurred last year. The goal, says Capt.
Eric Flanagan, a Marine spokesman, is to rotate as many as 2,500 Marines to
the base as part of an air-ground task force.
"This rotational basis allows for Marines to be present in the region
without large basing requirements," Flanagan said in an e-mail. "We won't
need big mess halls, exchanges or other military base comforts, lessening
the cost of having Marines in the region."
•Guam. Since 2000, the Pentagon has been bolstering forces on the
westernmost U.S. territory, according to the Congressional Research Service.
About 8,000 Marines based on Okinawa are slated to move there. The buildup
and regular military exercises concern the Chinese, the service said in a
report dated Nov. 15. The island has two important U.S. bases: Apra for the
Navy and Andersen for the Air Force.
For the Pentagon, a key concern on Guam is an attack by Chinese or North
Korean missiles, the report says. That is reflected in requests for hundreds
of millions of dollars to fortify fuel bunkers and airplane hangars. The
Air Force seeks a "hardened facility" for its bombers, cargo and tankers.
The hangar would have a concrete roof and walls with a thickness of 3½
feet, according to budget documents.
Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh told Congress this month that the
commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific has asked for the protection in the
event of a missile attack. Welsh put the cost at $256 million for the new
fortifications.
"The hardened facilities on Guam are in response to a combatant commander
request to provide more resilient capability on Guam because of an increased
threat of surface-to-surface missile attack," Welsh said. "He didn't
request that everything be hardened, just those things that are key
facilities that you couldn't improvise if there was damage."
•Tinian and Saipan. Two islands in the North Pacific, U.S. territory
not far from Guam, could be candidates for dispersing aircraft among a
number of bases, according to the Pentagon. The Air Force seeks more than $
115 million to build infrastructure on Saipan. The intent, according to
budget documents, is to use the island for exercises and as emergency
landing strips in case of bad weather.
The islands have long held strategic importance to the U.S. military. In
World War II, American troops seized them from Japanese forces in 1944 and
set up a sprawling base on Tinian for B-29 bombers to strike Japan. The
Enola Gay and Bock's Car flew from Tinian in August 1945 to drop atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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