Tag: PACOM

For those that haven’t heard, Defense Secretary James Mattis during the Change of Command ceremony renamed Pacific Command to “Indo-Pacific Command” in response to Chinese militarism in the region.  I am just wondering what do we call PACOM now?  iPAC?  It makes it sound like a tech company.

Anyway with Admiral Harris now moving on from PACOM he will hopefully soon get confirmed to take over the Ambassador position in South Korea.

Here is what the PACOM commander says Kim Jong-un will do if the US military pulls out of Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would do a “victory dance” if the United States pulled its troops from South Korea, a top U.S. military commander said Thursday.

Adm. Harry Harris, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, was offering his assessment of how Kim would respond in the event the U.S. succumbed to the North’s longstanding demand to remove its 28,000 troops from the South.  [Yonhap]

I think it depends on the context of the pull out.  If the US unilaterally pulls out of the US-ROK alliance due to a split with the South Korean government, Kim Jong-un would of course do a “victory dance”.

However, if the US pulls out after an intrusive international inspection program verifies the end of their nuclear program, reduction in forces along the DMZ, elimination of ICBMs, and other measures then he likely would not.  We will see what the upcoming talks lead.  It should be another interesting year for those of us who follow events on the Korean peninsula.

Admiral Harris seems to understand what the Kim regime’s ultimate goal of their nuclear weapon’s program is:

A top U.S. military commander said Wednesday he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is intent on reunifying the Korean Peninsula under a single, communist system.

Adm. Harry Harris, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, told a congressional hearing he does not agree with the predominant view that Kim is pursuing nuclear-tipped missiles to safeguard his regime only.

Kim is “after reunification under a single, communist system,” Harris told the House Armed Services Committee, adding that is the “long view.”

The North Korean leader’s nuclear ambitions contribute to that view and help him blackmail countries such as South Korea and the U.S., the commander said. And Washington should continue to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions on Pyongyang under its “maximum pressure” campaign to persuade Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.  [Yonhap]

As I and others have said repeatedly the development of nuclear weapons solely to deter US led regime change does not make sense.  North Korea’s conventional capabilities have proven to be an effective deterrent for decades.  Look at what they have done over the years with killing US soldiers, taking US naval personnel hostage, shooting down a US plane, attacking the Blue House to kill the ROK president, bombing an airliner out of the sky, hijacking an airplane, shelling a ROK island, sinking a ROK ship, etc.

None of these attacks led to a retaliatory strike because of their conventional capabilities were an effective deterrent.  So clearly there is more to why they want to develop nuclear weapons so aggressively.  The theory that makes the most sense is that the true intention of their nuclear program is to separate the US from South Korea and then seek a confederation on North Korean terms.

The US military brass are definitely making their rounds through South Korea due to the ongoing tensions:

The chief of the United States armed forces responsible for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region will visit South Korea to discuss various security issues surrounding the area, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday.

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun said Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, will stay in South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday, and will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jeong Kyeong-doo.

Harris is also expected to inspect a joint South Korea-U.S. military drill called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise that starts Monday and visit the southern port city of Busan, according to the newspaper. Ashai Shimbun added that Harris is also expected to request South Korea to fully complete the deployment of a U.S. missile shield called THAAD.

Harris’ visit is followed by Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had a two-day visit to South Korea earlier this week.

The newspaper also reported that U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), who is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee will also visit Seoul and ask the South Korean officials to take stricter measures against North Korea.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported that Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, will also visit South Korea and Japan later this month to discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats.  [Yonhap]

A bad-ass Korean-American has taken over command of all US Special Forces in the Pacific:

Maj. Gen. Daniel Yoo took command of Pacific Special Operations on Friday, becoming the first Marine to head a theater-level special operations command.

Gen. Raymond A. Thomas III, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, described Yoo as “the embodiment of the American dream.”

“Born on the Fourth of July, in Korea, he immigrated to this country at a young age and the rest, as they say, is history,” he said during a ceremony at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii.

Yoo is a career infantry officer who has led units from a rifle platoon to the entire 1st Marine Division. He previously served as director of operations for U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

The Sea of Japan/East Sea issue has come back up again:

Shortly after North Korea’s ballistic missile launch on Wednesday, the U.S. military issued a statement that may add to the anger of Koreans over the naming of the waters between the peninsula and Japan.

In a five-paragraph document posted on its website, the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), headquartered in Hawaii, confirmed the North’s firing of a missile, saying it flew nine minutes before falling into the “Sea of Japan.”

Almost simultaneously, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) here uploaded a statement on its own homepage with mostly the same content.

The only differences were the time, as PACOM’s version is based on Hawaii time and the USFK’s notes Korean standard time, and the name of the waters, which Koreans call the East Sea.

The USFK’s statement said the missile landed in “waters East of the Korean Peninsula.”

Some South Korean journalists stationed at the defense ministry’s press room complained about PACOM’s use of the Sea of Japan alone in the official document directly involving Korea and read by many people in the key regional ally.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but USFK admitted they modified the naming in their statement which makes sense since their statement is directed more towards a Korean audience.  PACOM on the other hand makes statements directed towards a regional audience that includes Japan, so of course they are going to use the internationally recognized naming convention for the body of water between the two countries which is the Sea of Japan.

I love these comments from Admiral Harris:

U.S. Pacific Command Commander Adm. Harry Harris says those who served during the attack on Pearl Harbor never failed to stand for the national anthem.

His remarks at today’s ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack generated a lengthy standing ovation from the crowd, with people whistling and hooting. Thousands gathered for the event, held on a pier across the harbor from where the USS Arizona sank during the 1941 attack.

“You can bet that the men and women we honor today — and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago — never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played,” Harris said to nearly a minute of clapping, whistles and whoops.

“Hearing the words ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ means something special for every American, every day,” Harris added. “But today, on Dec. 7th, it takes on extraordinary significance, as we’re joined here in this hallowed place by World War II veterans and survivors of the attacks on military bases all across Oahu, including right here at Pearl Harbor.”

In recent months, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others have knelt through the national anthem to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities, drawing criticism and acclaim alike. Athletes from many sports, from youth to professional levels, have followed Kaepernick’s lead.

Reached later, Pacific Command spokesman Robert Shuford said Harris’ comments “speak for themselves.”  [Star Advertiser]

You can read more at the link.

New U.S. Pacific Command head Adm. Harry Harris (L, front) and South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Choi Yun-hee (R, front) place a wreath in front of the wreckage of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek on South Korea’s west coast on June 10, 2015, as they pay tribute to the 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of the country’s warship in 2010 by North Korea. (Yonhap)

The new PACOM commander is not mincing words about what he thinks of the Chinese land and maritime grabs in the South China Sea:

The newly promoted head of U.S. Pacific Command on Wednesday described China’s claims to a vast swathe of islands in the South China Sea as “preposterous.”

China’s disputed island claims was one of several challenges Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., said he would face as the new head of PACOM during his change-of-command ceremony, whose backdrop was the submerged USS Arizona Memorial.

At the same ceremony, Adm. Scott H. Swift assumed command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, which Harris had commanded since October 2013.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told the audience that the U.S. opposes any further work by China to militarize disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Harris projected a scrappy stance toward China in his remarks.

“So ladies and gentlemen, our president is crystal clear,” Harris said. “The U.S. will rebalance to the Pacific. Our joint forces will work closely with our allies and friends in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.”

And the greatest challenges those forces face, he said, are from North Korea, “with its quest for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them intercontinentally,” China’s “preposterous claims to and land reclamation activities in the South China Sea,” and a “resurgent Russia” in the Pacific.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.