WASHINGTON D.C. - To help assuage fears of growing militarization of
the South China Sea, the United States Navy is mounting a high-profile
humanitarian mission in the region that will involve at least two
nations locked in a territorial dispute with China.
The US Pacific Fleet is mounting Pacific Partnership 2012 – that it
described as the “largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance
mission in the Asia-Pacific region, designed to strengthen regional
relationships and increase interoperability between the United States,
partner nations, and international humanitarian and relief
organizations.”
The blog site “The Hill” claimed that the Pentagon was looking at the
feasibility of coordinating the Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP)
with special operations units already in the Philippines.
The 2012 mission platform will be the USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). The
Military Sealift Command hospital ship will leave its San Diego homeport
May 1 to visit Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
The US will be joined by 12 partner nations including Australia,
Canada, Chile, France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Peru, Singapore, and Thailand.
The Pacific Partnership will also be joined by a number of NGOs and
agencies including the East-West Center, Global Grins, Hope Worldwide,
LDS Charities, Project Handclasp, Project Hope, UC San Diego Pre-Dental
Society, University of Hawaii, World Vets; as well as, USAID, Dept of
Justice, NOAA, and joint partners – the Army, Air Force, and Marine
Corps.
A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessel will visit the
Philippines and Vietnam, along with complete medical teams, helicopters,
and Japanese volunteer organizations.
Navy medical specialists plan to carry out humanitarian support
operations alongside their military and civilian counterparts in each
country, mission commander Capt. James Morgan said.
Those operations will include setting up medical treatment centers
inland and bringing locals aboard the USNS Mercy for more complicated
medical procedures, he explained.
In addition to the medical aspect of the mission, Pacific Partnership
includes engineering projects as well as conferences and classes with
local officials.
Morgan stressed that the Pacific Partnership was “wholly separate" from the Balikatan war games held in Palawan.
Pacific Partnership was created in response to the terrible tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 2004.
But the Pentagon admitted the 4-month humanitarian operation is part
of the shift of American military focus from the Middle East to the
Pacific. That shift was a key part in the White House's new national
security strategy rolled out in February by President Obama.
The ship is expected to return to San Diego in mid-September.
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Rodney Jaleco | ABS CBN North America Bureau | May 2, 2012 | Article Link
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