Welcome to the Summer issue
of the Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM.

It is my privilege to be the Commander in Chief of U.S. Pacific Command as the Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM celebrates its 25th anniversary.

The world has changed to an amazing degree in the last quarter of a century, at the beginning of which the U.S. Pacific Command began to document and report international military cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region with the first issue of FORUM.

Just 25 years ago, America’s rivalry with the Soviet Union extended all the way to space, as the U.S. won the race to Mars by landing the Viking mission. This year, we had a former U.S. rocket scientist riding to the International Space Station on Soyuz as a tourist.

Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Editor-in-Chief and the Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Command hold FORUM’s 25th anniversary sign with special guests at U.S. Pacific Command’s double anniversary ceremony. Front row, left to right: • Mr. Charlie Coger, Deputy head of Hawaii operations for RS Information Systems, FORUM’s current editorial services contractor • Mr. Dan Kilcup, Chief Executive Officer, Allen Wayne Ltd., original FORUM design and editorial services contractor for the first 23 years • Col. Soot Jew, U.S. Army (ret), pioneer and first FORUM Editor, 1976 to 1977 • Lt. Col. Paul R. Stankiewicz, U. S. Air Force (ret), Editor-in-Chief for 20 years, 1981 to present • Mrs. Judith A. Stankiewicz • Adm. Dennis C. Blair, Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC), and host of the anniversary • Lt. Col. Joe Screnci, USAF, FORUM Project Manager. Back row, left to right: • Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Lowe, USA, Deputy Chief of Staff, and long time supporter of FORUM • Mr. Sheldon Ortego, FORUM current contract designer • Brig. Gen. Donald C. Wurster, USAF, Commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific, which provides funding • Col. John D. Mills, USA, Chairman of Editorial Board, and long time contributor • Ambassador Charles H. Twining, Foreign Policy Advisor to USCINCPAC, representing the U.S. State Department • Mr. Duke Hiyama, Head of Hawaii operations for RS Information Systems, representing the editorial services contractor • Mr. Larry Kenner, Vice President, Kenner Inc., current design services contractor • Dr. Timothy Wright, Asia specialist and strategic analyst, HQ USCINCPAC, and longest serving member of the FORUM Editorial Board. Photo by PH1 John Thorton, USN

Just 25 years ago, we in the United States celebrated our nation’s bicentennial. This year, the world officially entered its new millennium.

And just 25 years ago, the personal computer and the home VCR were first introduced. Now, most of our nations are heavily reliant on them.

Alliances and friendships are now stronger and more important than ever to the Asia-Pacific region, and we are getting adept at handling issues and points of friction before they become crises, in order to maintain and strengthen our relationships – relationships that are tremendously important to each of our countries and to the region.

As I travel through the Pacific, I see change. Asia is moving; FORUM readers know this as well or better than I do. It is going to be different in five years. It is going to be quite different in ten years. It will be unrecognizable in another 25 years. The Asia-Pacific region is clearly an exciting place to be a military professional.

Our responsibilities for the military part of our region’s security are increasingly complex. The principal role of armed forces remains what it has always been: to protect each of our nations against external attack, and to ensure sovereignty. Many in the region are forced to deal with internal threats from insurgents. But there is now greater awareness that force alone is insufficient to quell insurgency without political accommodation. In the last 25 years, the role of armed coercion in governance has faded. Power has shifted from military to political authorities, while military forces play a smaller role in politics and have transferred many internal and border security tasks to police forces. When I think back to the roles of generals in the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and other nations, the trend is striking.

Accompanying this is a trend toward smaller armed forces that are better paid, better equipped, and better led by professional non-commissioned officers. When our armed forces are not required to support themselves through commercial activities, they are far more responsive to government authority, and far less susceptible to corruption within the ranks.

The U.S. Pacific Command continues deterring all aggression at regional points of friction such as the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait. Our forces must be thoroughly well-trained and ready to prevail in conflicts. Their deterrent effect has been central to the management of these points of friction over the last 25 years; I am confident they will continue to do so in the future. And progress will occur, as it does today in the Republic of Korea – through diplomacy, information, and economic development.