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Securing the Far East
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15985 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1989 |
1,205 Words |
| Author
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Kyudai Mineo
Kyudai Mineo, founder and director of the Institute of
Military Studies, has written numerous books on military
strategy and defense. |
In his speech at Vladivostok in 1986, General Secretary Gorbachev announced the unilateral reduction of conventional weaponry in Asia and promoted Soviet confidence-building measures.
Gorbachev's speech clearly expressed the intent to remain a Pacific power. The Soviets' current strategy is to redeploy major military resources in Asia and to reestablish their military presence in the region.
Since the 1970s, the Soviet Union has deployed 25 to 35 percent of its military might in Asia. The USSR's military strategy toward Western Europe is different than its strategy toward Asia. For example, land and air power hold major roles in Europe, but sea confrontation is of minor and supplemental importance. In Asia, however, the key battlefield would be the sea, and the Soviet Pacific Fleet's major confrontation would be with U.S.-Japanese sea forces--specifically, the U.S. Third Fleet, the Seventh Fleet, and Japan's Self-defense Sea Force.
In the past, the Soviet Union viewed its sea power as a weak link in its defense. Consequently, the Soveit Far Eastern navy has been built up and modernized to compete with U.S. sea power. In the Pacific, the United States benefits from its vast network of international bases and facilities and can mobilize its navy freely. The Soviets' access to the Pacific is comparatively limited because their nearby straits are controlled by U.S. allies. Also, the Soviet Union's four fleets are totally separated by Eurasia and are difficult to merge because of their remoteness.
But geographic conditions are not always a handicap for the Soviet Union. If the Soviet Far Eastern navy tries to enter the Pacific Ocean, its activities might be restricted by U.S. and Japanese forces, but the USSR could turn the closed Japan and Okhotsk seas to its strategic advantage.
The Soviet Union believes that American antisubmarine warfare (ASW) plans go as follows:
1. The U.S. aircraft carrier task force attacks Cam Ranh Bay and Soviet bases along the USSR's eastern coast.
2. The Soviet Pacific fleet is defeated in the Japan Sea.
3. The Soviet's nuclear-fueled ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN) in the Okhotsk are detected and
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