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The United States Is the Network in the Asia-Pacific Region

National differences preclude any area-wide alliance.

The United States must be the key player in the Asia-Pacific region without having a regional NATO-type alliance, says the commanding general of the U.S. Army, Pacific. Speaking at the opening breakfast for TechNet Asia-Pacific 2014, being held in Honolulu December 9-11, Gen. Vincent Brooks, USA, described how any coalition in the region must be ad hoc and the United States must be at its nexus.

Gen. Brooks declared that building partnerships must be a national function for the United States in the region. While he would like to see a NATO-type alliance in the Asia-Pacific region, it will not happen. The nature of relations among the dozens of nations precludes that. “There is not a lot of trust among nations,” he said, and they have especially long memories with regard to each other. “If we are going to have friends who will not talk to one another but will talk to us, then we are the network,” he stated.

Most national relationships are bilateral, he continued, and nations that will work with the United States in some cases will not work with other nations in a coalition. That increases interoperability challenges across the entire coalition that must be solved beforehand by the United States.