Port visits are never just port visits.
I found myself smiling quite a bit when I read this;
A U.S. Navy transport ship and two Japanese defense vessels docked at Vietnam’s south-central port of Cam Ranh on Saturday as part of the Pacific Partnership 2017 (PP17).
According to Captain Stanfield Chien, the PP17’s mission commander, this year’s program will focus on civil construction projects, professional discussions and disaster response drills.
There will also be exchanges on coastal health and marine search and rescue missions.
The U.S. Navy’s expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River measures 103 meters in length with a beam of 28.5 meters and a draft of 3.83 meters.
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Japanese helicopter destroyer the JS Izumo (DDH-183) and the destroyer JS Sazanami (DD-113) belong to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Cam Ranh Bay with American and Japanese ships in a united Vietnam. The 21st Century is making all sorts of interesting combinations from the last.
Vietnam had a bloody history with both Japan and the United States in the 20th Century, but in this century new partnerships are growing to meet the new security challenge presented by a growing China.
All this is well known, but it brought to mind the May 1993 Navy Policy Paper “…From the Sea” Update: NAVAL FORWARD PRESENCE: ESSENTIAL FOR A CHANGING WORLD.
Some things never change.
Short of war, forward presence is as much an element of statecraft as military strategy. Although its importance has often been misunderstood — especially by those who view naval forces as existing only to fight battles at sea — forward presence in fact provides diplomatic leverage during peace that may well deter war on land as well as at sea.
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Forward deployed forces gain invaluable familiarization with potential conflict environments; intelligence focus and flows are established before a crisis; communications paths are strengthened; and climatic impact on equipment is assessed.Furthermore, the capabilities of potential coalition partners can be determined, credibility established and operational procedures practiced. That situational awareness is particularly critical in the first stages of conflict when maritime forces are likely to form the initial core of U.S. forces on-scene.
Having thus trained where they will fight, they can provide effective command and control, serve as the nucleus around which a decisive joint or coalition based response can be shaped, and enable the introduction of heavier follow-on forces if necessary.
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The tangible nature of forward presence is far more apt to preserve regional power balances than the uncertain and unseen threat of surging U.S.-based forces if something happens.Finally, the operational expertise and mutual trust gained in exercises with friends, provide a solid foundation upon which coalitions are built. Most important, the advantage of operating forward is the ability to respond rapidly with U.S. armed might at or near trouble spots with such rapidity that force itself may very well not be required to resolve the crisis.
The exact degree to which forward presence alters the strategic calculations of regional belligerents is difficult to assess.
Clearly some acts will not be deterred, even when all elements of our nation’s power are brought to bear. It is therefore easy to point to specific instances where deterrence appears to have failed. At the same time, successful efforts, arguably the great majority, generally go unnoticed.
