A RANKING United States defense official started an official visit to the Philippines on Sunday as US President Barack Obama’s national security advisor was reported to cite a “strategic pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter arrived in the country on Sunday for a five-day visit “to continue US defense consultations on a range of common security challenges,” the US Embassy in Manila said.
Carter’s visit comes after a US Armed Forces Press Service article quoted US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon as saying that the US sees a “need to focus on regions that will shape global order in coming decades.”
“It was clear that there was an imbalance in the projection and focus of US power,” the article quoted Donilon as saying.
“It is clear that, as we look forward, maintaining security in a dynamic region will demand greater trilateral coordination from Japan, Korea and the US.” Donilon was also quoted as saying that “the shift in focus toward the Asia-Pacific region isn’t just a matter of military presence.”
He cited long-standing alliances with Thailand and the Philippines to address counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The US Embassy in Manila said that Carter’s visit “will reinforce our strong commitment to our allies and partners in the Asia region.”
Other countries in Carter’s itinerary include Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.
Carter’s visit coincides with the annual combined joint-command post exercise by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet and the Republic of Korea. That exercise called Key Resolve 2013 started on March 11 and will end on March 21, the last day of Carter’s visit to the Philippines.
The visit of Carter, a three-time recipient of the US Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, is ahead of the annual Philippines-US military bilateral training exercise from April 5 to 17.
Called Exercise Balikatan 2013, the 29th joint exercise will also see armed forces personnel from both countries conducting field training in Camp O’Donnell, Crow Valley, Subic Bay and Fort Magsaysay.
Prior to his most recent government service, Carter was chairman of the International and Global Affairs faculty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and co-director of the Preventive Defense Project.
The US Embassy in Manila said Carter will “also visit US service members to thank them for their service.”
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