May 29th 2003
Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz departed Washington on Thursday on a five-day trip to Singapore, South Korea and Japan to discuss U.S. strategy and military presence with leaders in the key region.
Wolfowitz's aircraft took off from Andrews Air Force Base for Singapore, where he will attend a conference of Asian security and defense officials sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
On Saturday he will speak to the conference on evolving American strategy in the Asia-Pacific in Washington's declared war on terrorism before going to Seoul and Tokyo. He will return to Washington on Monday.
Wolfowitz will meet senior government officials in all three countries, and Pentagon officials said that growing tension in the region over North Korea's nuclear ambitions would be a major issue on the agenda.
The secretary is expected to hear questions on the Pentagon's recently announced study of likely shifts in U.S. military posture in Asia and elsewhere around the globe after the war in Iraq. Such moves would be aimed at addressing both the threat from both guerrilla groups and competition with China for power and influence in Asia.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has announced that the Pentagon is studying -- in close consultation with Seoul -- the possible future removal of some of the 37,000 American troops stationed in South Korea.
That and other potential regional shifts in U.S. presence would be based on a growing ability to more quickly send mobile American forces to the region from home bases in the United States.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that the United States was considering the possible removal of thousands of U.S. Marines from Okinawa and perhaps establishing a military presence in Singapore and Malaysia. The report said the U.S. military also might seek access by its warships to Vietnam.
In Seoul, Wolfowitz will speak to the Korean Chamber of Commerce. He will also hold media availabilities in Seoul and Tokyo, the Defense Department said.
