Rumsfeld, speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Conference in Singapore in June, talked about China, North Korea and terrorism concerns that make the Pacific a greater focus for U.S. military readiness.
At that conference, Rumsfeld said the rest of the world will be interested in seeing a more transparent China as far as its military "investments" are concerned.
"You can't be successful economically and engage the rest of the world and have people milling around your country and selling things and buying things and engaging in exchanges and have them at the same time worried or wondering about some mystery that they see as to a behavior pattern that is unsettling," according to Rumsfeld at the Singapore conference.
Forces at Andersen, Big Navy likely to double in 10 years, governor says
By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Picture Guam in a decade.
About 8,000 U.S. Marines and their families, a total of about 17,000 people, will have settled on Guam by then, after their relocation from Okinawa.
The Marines and their dependents alone would boost the local population by more than 10 percent. They're not going to be the only military newcomers.
An Army battalion might be stationed on Guam, but the details are not available, Gov. Felix Camacho said after a meeting yesterday morning with Rear Adm. Charles "Joe" Leidig, Naval Forces Marianas commander.
Camacho said the possibility of an Army battalion on the island was only mentioned as a side note in his meeting with Leidig about the Guam Integrated Military Development plan, which spells out details of the relocation of the estimated 8,000 Marines and 9,000 of their family members to Guam. The governor said the Marines will start arriving around 2010.
An Army battalion could range from 300 to 1,200 soldiers.
The governor said he also was told during the meeting that the population on Andersen Air Force Base and the Navy base on Guam could double in about 10 years. If that happens, several thousand more Air Force and Navy people will be added to the local population.
Military spending
Guam stands to see $15 billion of military-related spending on Guam over the next 10 years, at a rate of $1.5 billion a year, the governor said. That rate is almost half the size of Guam's economy, last estimated around $3.7 billion by a federal report earlier this year.
The governor's office called the military buildup on Guam the largest on island since World War II.
Next month, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England is expected to visit Guam, the governor said.
About a day or two before England's arrival, Guam also will be revisited on Aug. 24 by Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated in May that relocating U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam makes Guam a key part of "the Pacific security architecture."
Guam's resurgence, as far as U.S. military planning goes, is part of a bigger focus on increasing U.S. military presence in the Pacific, in part because of potential terror hot spots in Asian countries, military dignitaries have said.
The United States also is watching China's military growth and movement in North Korea, which recently test-fired missiles.
Rumsfeld, speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Conference in Singapore in June, talked about China, North Korea and terrorism concerns that make the Pacific a greater focus for U.S. military readiness.
Transparency
At that conference, Rumsfeld said the rest of the world will be interested in seeing a more transparent China as far as its military "investments" are concerned.
"You can't be successful economically and engage the rest of the world and have people milling around your country and selling things and buying things and engaging in exchanges and have them at the same time worried or wondering about some mystery that they see as to a behavior pattern that is unsettling," according to Rumsfeld at the Singapore conference.
He also said, "a lack of transparency with respect to (Chinese) military investments understandably causes concerns for some of their neighbors."
The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report notes, "China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional U.S. military advantages."
On North Korea, Rumsfeld said at the same conference that the future of the Pacific Rim will depend also on the path North Korea takes.
"Will it continue to starve and repress its people, threaten its neighbors, and pursue nuclear weapons? Or will it, at some point, do what other nations have done, such as Libya, have done and choose a path which leads back to membership in the community of nations?" Rumsfeld asked.
