Is a U.S. Military Presence in Southeast Asia Necessary in the Twenty-First Century?

<p>For many years the U.S. military presence in Southeast Asia (SEA) has served as an important stabilizing factor in region and has allow countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to sustain high economic growth and develop social and political stability. With the loss of the Philippine bases in 1992 the only forward deployed U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region are located in Japan the Republic of Korea and Hawaii. At the same time the U.S. military in SEA is maintained through the use of port facilities and a multitude of bilateral security relations and military exercises with individual ASEAN states. In the twenty-first century ASEAN will continue to be confronted by a number of security concerns. This study shows that the significant threats facing the region are an aggressive and assertive China conflict in the South China Sea and an unstable Indonesia. In view of these security concerns the study argues that a U.S. military presence in SEA is still necessary in the twenty-first century. Maintaining such a presence will yield significant benefits to the U.S. and ASEAN. However the continued presence of the U.S. military in SEA is expected to face greater challenges due to lower military resources and support as the U.S. finds itself increasingly embroiled in conflicts worldwide. The study proposes three possible options in which a continued U.S. military presence in SEA can be maintained namely maintaining the status quo an increased presence and a surrogate presence. On balance maintaining a surrogate presence by empowering a suitable country within ASEAN presents the best option for the U.S. and ASEAN.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>