Saturday, February 20, 1999
Prueher left
his stamp on
Pacific strategy
Admiral relinquishes
By Richard Halloran
command today
Special to the Star-BulletinWhen Adm. Joseph Prueher relinquishes command of U.S. forces in the Pacific and Asia today, he will leave behind a lasting imprint on the strategy and tactics with which the Pacific Command engages China, the emerging power of Asia.
"I think our approach needs to be one of respect and also of strength in dealing and working and moving forward with the Chinese," he said in an interview before turning over the helm to Adm. Dennis Blair, who has been director of the joint staff in the Pentagon.
The firm course that Prueher advocates stands in contrast to the inconsistencies of the Clinton administration. President Clinton, for instance, was conciliatory toward the Chinese during his trip to China last June while Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently gave them a tongue-lashing at an embassy reception in Washington.
"Everybody back there is free-lancing on China," said a Washington insider.
Prueher, who has studied China intensively during his three years here by reading the works of Sun Tzu, Mao Zedong and other Chinese strategists, and through conversations with China specialists, said, "I've tried to learn more about Chinese culture as an influence on their decision-making."
Despite differences, he was optimistic about U.S. relations with China, notably those with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that he has cultivated.
About 250 senior Chinese officers have visited U.S. bases as part of an effort to persuade them that the U.S. is not a threat -- and to help them to understand what they would be up against if they engage the U.S. in hostilities.
Long run, Prueher thinks the Chinese are seeking to revive the concept of the Middle Kingdom in which China dominates Asia.
"The Chinese believe they are the hub of the region," he said. "At some point in the future, they would like to have everyone in the region have to have China's approval for whatever they might want to do."
In Shanghai recently, Prueher cautioned the Chinese that the U.S. seeks to ensure "that no hostile coalition arises" in Asia. "It is not in our mutual interest for any state, including the United States, to become a Pacific hegemon," he said in a speech.
In the immediate future, Prueher sees stormy seas rising: "I think it's going to be more difficult in the months ahead" because many economists say China's economic growth rate is about 5.5 percent instead of the nearly 8 percent claimed by the Chinese. Those economists say 8 percent is needed to keep unemployment at a tolerable rate.
If China's economic plans start to crumble, Prueher said, that would generate "great problems with stability." As Chinese leaders seek to stabilize the nation, he said, "that bleeds into human rights, it bleeds into control. It's a dilemma and that creates a problem with the United States."
With China and North Korea building long-range missiles, Prueher asserted the U.S. would build a theater missile defense system in the western Pacific, the prospect of which has generated protests from Beijing. Prueher, however, was adamant, "We would be irresponsible as nations develop missiles if we did not worry hard as we send our troops and our ships and our aircraft around the world," he said. "So we are going to do theater missile defense. We will do it in the Pacific."
Whether that would include Taiwan, the island nation over which China claims sovereignty, was left open. Prueher said only, "We've had no discussions with Taiwan on that." Asked whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan against an attack from China, Prueher said, "That's not my question to answer. My civilian bosses will be making that decision."
Staff officers have noted, however, that deploying two aircraft carriers to waters near Taiwan in 1996 when the PLA fired missiles toward Taiwan had laid down a marker for the Chinese.
Prueher disclosed that the possibility of hostilities had been discussed with senior officers of the PLA and military leaders of Taiwan, with which the U.S. has quasi-diplomatic relations. "All of us agree that bringing the China-Taiwan issue to a military type of confrontation is a no-winner," he said. "That path doesn't take anybody anywhere any of us want to go."
On passage through the South China Sea, which is vital to the economies of East Asia and, indirectly, the industrial world, Prueher asserted "we support freedom of navigation" even though China claims sovereignty over that sea. Prueher said 114 ships a day pass through the Straits of Malacca at the southern entrance to the waterway, with most turning toward Northeast Asia. In contrast, 42 ships a day, or 15,300 a year, pass through the Panama Canal.
To preserve that freedom of navigation, Prueher said, "We have a fairly robust military presence transiting through the South China Sea frequently," including amphibious ships loaded with marines. "We do not advertise it a lot," he said, "but we're looking at making a little bigger show of our presence there than we have in the past."
On other issues, Prueher said:
The U.S. should pay more attention to Indonesia because that nation, troubled by economic calamity and political distress, sits across the Straits of Malacca and is the strategic center of Southeast Asia. Indonesia's army has been criticized for being heavy-handed in seeking to keep order but Prueher argued it has done a "good job at keeping anarchy from prevailing."
Richard Halloran is a Honolulu-based freelance writer.
