US commander says Asian war games not aimed at China

Friday, August 24, 2007

NEW DELHI (AFP) - A top US military commander said yesterday increased military cooperation with Asian powers was not aimed at Beijing, days after he expressed concern about China's rapid military build-up.

The remarks came ahead of joint exercises between Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and the United States set to take place in the Bay of Bengal in early September.

"You could connect the dots geographically," Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of the US Pacific Command told reporters in New Delhi. "But there's no effort on the part of the US or on the part of any of these other countries to isolate China."

"Quite the contrary. We're looking to embrace China to the extent that we should and can and want to, and to the extent that they want to."

But just days earlier Keating expressed concern about China's military build-up after a display of Beijing's firepower in war games with Russia.

"China professes to be advocating a peaceful rise," said Keating on a visit to Cambodia on Tuesday.

"Some of the capabilities that they're demonstrating would indicate to us that perhaps their intentions aren't exactly beneficial to security."

September's naval exercises will see the participation of 25 warships from the five countries, including two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers from the United States.

U.S. to train Cambodian military to fight terrorism

August 22, 2007

The United State will help Cambodia train small amount of soldiers to fight terrorism, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Tea Banh said here Tuesday.

The military cooperation to combat terrorism between Cambodia and the U.S. will help to make a stable situation in this region and the world, Tea Banh told reporters after a meeting with Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, who is paying a visit here from Aug. 20 to 22.

We have always had good cooperation with other countries too to fight terrorism, he added.

Meanwhile, Keating said that the U.S. is ready to assist Cambodia in military training and exercises in order to improve the country's capabilities to fight terrorism.

The assistance could also involve information sharing, training in surveillance techniques and tracking the flow of terrorist finances around the world, he added.

Admiral Keating commands all U.S. military forces in the Pacific and Indian Ocean areas, a press release from the U.S. embassy said.

The U.S. Pacific Command is a unified command, which includes approximately 300,000 military personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, about 20 percent of all active-duty U.S. military forces, it said.

Source: Xinhua

Political Cartoon: US-Xmer's Relationship

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Domino Theory redux: Cambodia caught up between the US and China ... again?

Adm. Timothy J. Keating, right, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, gestures as he talks to journalists at Ministry of Defense in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007. The United States is ready to assist Cambodia in military training and exercises to improve the country's capabilities to fight global terrorism, Keating said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tue Aug 21, 2007

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - The region's top US military commander Tuesday expressed concern over China's rapid military build-up, just days after an unprecedented display of Beijing's firepower during war games with Russia.

"China professes to be advocating a peaceful rise," said Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of the US Pacific Command, during his first official trip to Cambodia, where he met with senior defence officials.

"Some of the systems they're developing and some of the capabilities that they're demonstrating would indicate to us that perhaps their intentions aren't exactly beneficial to security ... throughout the pacific," he said.

"So we're watching carefully," he added after talks with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Bahn.

Cambodia has in recent years become a stronger focus for both Washington and Beijing. China, a former patron of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, continues to eclipse the impoverished country's other donors with hundreds of millions of dollars in largely-unconditional aid.

Just moments before Keating's arrival at Cambodia's defence ministry, Chinese ambassador Zhang Jin Feng was seen leaving with a delegation of senior Chinese military officials.

Zhang divulged little about her talks, and Keating downplayed the ambassador's appearance, and said that his visit to Cambodia this week was not to counter Beijing's regional military influence.

"I don't view my visit as offsetting anyone else's. We're anxious to have more transparency with China," he said.

"We are not competing against the People's Republic of China militarily."

But after years in the diplomatic wilderness, Cambodia's star has abruptly begun to rise with the United States.

In particular, military ties to the country, largely snapped after Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his then-political counterpart in a 1997 coup, were re-established two years ago with the promise of limited military aid.

Since then, at least three senior US military commanders, including Keating, have made swings through Cambodia, and in February the navy's USS Gary became the first US warship to visit the former communist country in more than 30 years.

Keating said more cooperation is possible, mainly in the form of training and military exercises.

Cambodia has also emerged as a key regional partner in Washington's "war on terror," and Keating told reporters that the US would ramp up counter-terrorism cooperation with authorities here.

"We're willing to do what we can to make their capabilities even better, and this involves information sharing, surveillance techniques and the capability to track the flow of finances around the world," he said.

Porous borders and poor policing have made Cambodia a concern for terror watchers, who warn that extremist organisations could use the country as a refuge or staging ground for operations.

Will the US train RCAF soldiers to defend Cambodia's borders and to stop grabbing lands from the poor? ... or are they trained to defend the regime?

US Pacific forces Commander Admiral Timothy Keating (R) offers a souvenir photograph to Cambodian Minister of Defense Tea Banh (L) at the Ministry of Defense in Phnom Penh. "China professes to be advocating a peaceful rise," said Keating during his first official trip to Cambodia, where he met with senior defence officials. (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Commander: US Military to Train RCAF Troops

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 August 2007

The US military will help train Cambodia troops in counterterrorism, a top-ranking US official said Tuesday.

Admiral Timothy Keating, US commander-in-chief for the Pacific theater, said after meeting Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh that he would support such training to Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldiers to strengthen military ties between the two countries.

"We are very grateful for the support that Cambodia is providing, and we are anxious to make an even stronger friendship," Keating said.

Cambodia is enjoying increasing security support from the US. Military officials have trained doctors on bird flu response and the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a branch office in Phnom Penh earlier this year.

US: Admiral Keating's visit underscores the importance of the role of the US military in relations with Cambodia

US Commander Expected in Phnom Penh for Three-Day Visit

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 August 2007

Admiral Timothy Keating, US commander-in-chief for the Pacific theater, is scheduled to hold three days of meetings with Cambodian officials to strengthen military ties between the two countries.

Keating took over as commander of the theater in March. Cambodia has steadily received training other benefits from the US military since January.

Keating's visit comes on the heals of an official trip by Vietnam's chief military commander, Gen. Le Manh, last week.

US Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle said the visit underscored the importance of the role of the US military in relations with Cambodia.

US Admiral Timothy Keating to visit Cambodia

Monday, August 20, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The US embassy in Cambodia indicated that Admiral Timothy Keating, the Commander of the US Pacific Command, will perform a study visit to Cambodia between 20 and 22 August 2007. During his 3-day visit to Cambodia, Admiral Keating will meet with prime minister Hun Sen, defense minister Tea Banh, and he will also hold a press conference at the ministry of defense also. Admiral Keating is the US Commander of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. He commands about 300,000 US soldiers in the US Army, Navy, and Air Force, i.e. about 20% of the entire US force. This is the Admiral’s second visit to Cambodia.