Adm. Mullen's Speech at the 2010 Asia Society Washington's Annual Dinner
Official Transcript of Remarks as Delivered by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Washington D.C. Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff
WASHINGTON June 9, 2010 - Well, thank you very much for that award, and it really is, just walking in this evening, very, very special to be with you tonight. There is - having grown up in Southern California in Los Angeles, the Pacific is very much in my blood. And my first assignment was on a ship and the first posting of that ship in the late '60s was to the war in Vietnam.
And when we weren't there on the gun line, the first three ports I visited were in Sasebo, Japan, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong. And I had never been overseas before, and I remember then - and first impressions always stick with you - were what wonderful places they were, not because they were places but because of the people who were there and the warm reception, the engaging dialogues, the outreach and the warmth of the relationship between the American Navy - certainly I was on a Navy ship - and the people that I met.
And I have never forgotten that - the values, the culture, the need to learn more - and I have always been incredibly attracted to the Pacific. And I have spent a great deal of my career in the Pacific, although not much of it lately. Most of my career lately has been here in Washington, but it really is special to be with you.
And, Bill, I very much appreciate that kind and mercifully short introduction. And to Leo and the other leaders here tonight of this great society, it is a society that is of its time. I'm delighted to see so many people younger than me here because I think refreshing our organizations and societies and relationships, including those who will lead in the future, is absolutely critical as well.
So, it's an honor to accept this award on behalf of the more than 2 million men and women whom I have the privilege of representing and their families who support them. And I would also like to express my admiration for tonight's other honorees - Dan Kong, John Chambers and Shirin Chaudhury. It's really a privilege to share this evening with you.
And I truly believe that the Asia Society's leader, Mr. Leo Daly, reflects the values of his organization. He is a man who puts into action the belief that intercultural exchanges build the relationships upon which our common security, our prosperity and our future depend. So thanks, Leo, for inviting me to be here tonight.
As both a California native and a naval officer, as I said, I grew up on the Pacific Ocean and I interacted in my career with Asian navies and nations, visiting many of the countries you are from and learning some but not enough about the cultures. And that's what we call in the Navy, when we pull into port, cultural training.
My first war was Vietnam and my first command at the senior level was in a destroyer based in Pearl Harbor. And I also lived with my family in the Philippines.
As many sailors do, I consider the Asia-Pacific region a home, as well as, to use the military term, an area of responsibility. And I'll come back to that thought in a moment.
Today of course my interest in the region is much broader than it used to be, encompassing not only those nations with Pacific coastlines but also those in Central and South Asia as well. And as you might imagine, I spend a good bit of my time focused on our operations in Afghanistan, in our relationships with our partners in India and Pakistan.
Nothing could be more critical, in my view, than these relationships right now, especially as we continue to ramp up our military presence in Afghanistan and begin to improve security in Kandahar and across the south. It has been a bloody few days of late, and you've do doubt seen the news.
More than 20 coalition soldiers have been killed in action in just the last three days, four of them just this morning. And today there was a major incident at a wedding where many civilians were killed. And our thoughts and our prayers go out to their loved ones. We grieve for them and with them.
Sadly, there will be more casualties. Of that I am certain. The Taliban is feeling the pressure already imposed upon it by the surge, but I have every expectation that they will continue to resist. We must, ourselves, resist the temptation to lose heart, because I'm also certain of the strength in our strategy and in the leadership we have in place over there.
We will succeed in Afghanistan. We will prevent that country from ever becoming a safe haven again, but it will be a slow, messy and often deadly business and it will require the heavy lifting not only of the United States military, or in fact anyone's military, but rather the work and the worry of all our allies, partners and friends in the region.
We all have a stake in a stable Afghanistan, in particular those of us who have a stake in a stable Asia-Pacific region, those of us who live in this area of responsibility. But what are the responsibilities of a Pacific nation and how do we rise to meet them in a time of such incredible change and uncertainty?
How do we ensure that we properly align our mutual security interests in the region with the economic interdependence that globalization has thrust upon us? Well, I'm no economist, and those of my friends who knew me back when I was on that destroyer will tell you they didn't think I was much of a big thinker - (laughter) - but I do have a few ideas I'd like to share, at least from the perspective of the American armed forces because, as Secretary Gates said recently, the United States is a Pacific nation and it will remain a Pacific power.
Under our overarching duty to defend the country, I see our responsibilities to the region as three-fold.
First is to meet our security commitments to our allies. This is unwavering. From the bedrock alliances we have with the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, to burgeoning relationships we foster with emerging partners like Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, to name but a few, we are duty-bound and will remain so to dedicate our might to mutual defense.
Those who need our help may depend on it. Those who question our sincerity need not.
Our second responsibility, tied to the first, is to help secure the free and unfettered use of the commons. By this I mean sea, air, space, and now cyberspace, through which the flow of goods, services and information must travel. As you all know, half of the world's economy and its population calls the Asia-Pacific region home. The region accounts for a third of the U.S. two-way trade, more than $600 billion annually, and 400 billion (dollars) in direct U.S. investment.
And more than half of Asia's oil is imported from the Middle East, passing, as it must, through the narrow Strait of Malacca before reaching its destination. Indeed, the success of Indonesia's Integrated Maritime Surveillance System over the last few years and the positive relationship between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in surveilling the Strait of Malacca are great examples of how military forces can cooperate to improve security. We must find more, and for our part, we must be willing to do more.
Just this week, United States Pacific Command kicked off a maritime exercise with Cambodia, marking that country's first participation in this exercise series and making Cambodia the first new country to join since 1995. It's a good start, but securing the commons requires more than just exercises. It requires real investments and real strategies.
Anti-access and area denial are not simply buzzwords we use to argue for more money in the budget. These are real capabilities being pursued by real people, and we would do well to bear them in mind as we build the force for the future.
In particular, I remain extremely concerned about competition in cyberspace, not because competition in and of itself is a bad thing - in fact, the opposite is true - but because cyber remains a global common for which we do not have established processes or procedures, in which international mores are the easiest to flout without consequence, and upon which our entire way of life depends.
In the next 20 years, cyberspace will change how we fight much more so than it does today. In fact, it may be where we fight and how we fight. And, given the lack of controls upon cyber in some places and excessive controls upon it in others, such an ad hoc approach to management bodes well for no one along the vast stretch of Asia.
And that brings me to our final responsibility: regional stability itself. Now, I certainly don't believe that military forces alone can bring about regional stability in an area as vast and diverse as Asia. Nor am I suggesting that we'll ever really achieve something akin to perfection in this regard. But I do believe that in the attempt - in the pursuit of stability there is goodness and perhaps great effect, for from the effort comes a greater appreciation of mutual need, shared interests and capability
From the effort comes a greater focus on cooperation and collaboration and transparency, and from the effort comes reduced tensions and reduced risks of miscalculation. And right now I would argue that's a much needed outcome.
The North Korean attack on a South Korean warship this spring was not only an egregious breach of the fragile peace on that peninsula, but also yet another example of the sort of provocation and premeditation with which the North regime continues to isolate itself and threaten its neighbors.
We in the United States military stand firmly by our allies in the Republic of Korea and will move forward in keeping with international agreements to demonstrate that solidarity in coming weeks. I think it is of no surprise to anyone that we are planning maritime exercises to sharpen skills and strengthen collective defenses.
And I would offer that South Korea's neighbors and friends can assist as well in whatever manner best suits their sovereign needs. I have been encouraged by public statements made recently by Chinese leadership as to the seriousness of this incident and the need for accountability, and yet dismayed by a fairly tepid response to calls by the international community for support.
China is a leader in the region, a rising leader. We welcome its considerable strength and its potential. The question is, should China and the U.S. work together, lead together to promote regional stability? Washington's answer is and has been an unequivocal yes. Beijing's answer has been sometimes yes and sometimes no.
The recent rejection of a military-to-military contact is particularly disappointing because it removes the opportunity to listen and to learn from and about each other. And their heavy investments of late in modern expeditionary, maritime, air - and air capabilities seems oddly out of step with their stated goal of territorial defense.
Every nation has a right to defend itself and to spend as it sees fit for that purpose, but a gap as wide as what seems to be forming between China's stated intent and its military programs leaves me more than curious about the end result. Indeed, I have moved from being curious to being genuinely concerned.
Again, it comes back to responsibility, the kind of responsibility that leadership demands. I hope we may renew our military relationship with China, and I hope that its military leaders will join us in supporting efforts to reduce tension, increase trust and foster the sort of genuine and sustainability that the people who live and work in Asia so very much deserve. As President Obama has said, the United States and Asia are not separated by the Pacific Ocean; we are bound by it.
Thank you to the Asia Society and to all of you here for your personal commitment to building and maintaining relationships that signify a deep commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, and an abiding hope that our efforts underwrite a secure and prosperous world for our children and our grandchildren. Thank you and God bless.