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Home : Media : News : News Article View

# Arrival of Ship Tangible Symbol of US Rebalance to Asia-Pacific

By Kirk Wagar And Charles Williams

A new ship is coming to the region. The USS Fort Worth, a USNavy littoral combat ship (LCS), left its home port in San Diego last month,bound for Singapore, from where it will spend the better part of 16 monthsoperating with the people and navies of the Asia-Pacific region. 
We're excited that this deployment is in progress, with theFort Worth arriving today in Jakarta, Indonesia, and then on to Singapore nextMonday. 
The Fort Worth's arrival in South-east Asia is a reminder ofthe central role that the United States continues to play in a region to which"the centre of gravity of global affairs" has begun to shift, as ourgood friend, Singapore Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, remarked recently. 
The US and Asia are united by the waters of the Pacific.Much of the engagement on which our relationship with this vital region isbuilt takes place on, above, or below the sea, through myriad maritime airroutes and sea lanes, just as it has for generations.
Maritime trade and investment have been the prevailingsources of shared economic prosperity for the US and Asia, and will remainintegral parts of our ever-increasing commitment to shared success, well-beingand security. 
For nations that depend on the sea to sustain growth anddevelopment, maritime security underwrites economic prosperity. This iscertainly true in South-east Asia, where more than 620 million people live nearthe sea and produce a combined gross domestic product of more than US$2.4trillion (S$3.2 trillion). 
Like the rapid economic growth that propelled many regionalcountries out of poverty in the mid- to late-20th century, the free flow oftrade across Pacific sea lanes to container ports and intercoastal waterwaysdoes not happen by itself.
Rather, it requires persistent commitment, manifested in thecontinuous forward presence and vigilance of US Navy sailors, marines, shipsand aircraft, in constant coordination with regional allies and partners. Itrequires ships like the Fort Worth, which work with regional navies throughoutthe year, every year - for the benefit of Americans, South-east Asians, and theworld.
From an in-principle agreement announced at the Shangri-LaDialogue in 2011 to the inaugural deployment of the USS Freedom last year, andnow the Fort Worth, rotational deployments of LCSs to the US 7th Fleet havebecome tangible symbols of America's broader rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. 
The rebalance was reaffirmed by President Barack Obama atthe Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and East Asia Summit meetings last month.
Taking into account the significant US economic engagementin South-east Asia, with the US investing more in the region than any othermarket in Asia, this ongoing commitment of words and deeds to shared securityand prosperity reflects the centrality of South-east Asia to the US. 
The Fort Worth will soon become a regular fixture inSouth-east Asia and, in the coming years, the region will see up to four LCSsdeployed at the same time. 
Forward presence by the LCS is intentional: South-eastAsia's long coastlines and thousands of islands connected by dense shippinglanes and thriving entrepots make it a textbook littoral region in which theFort Worth will fit quite well.
Combining manoeuvrability, high speed and shallow draft, theLCS is uniquely suited to navigate waters and go places inaccessible to largerships. LCSs will operate in other parts of the region as well, includingNorth-east Asia and South Asia. 
The Fort Worth will spend most of its time working withregional navies at sea. Smaller, capable warships like LCSs are in high demandin South-east Asia and, unsurprisingly, the Fort Worth's arrival is highlyanticipated by navies throughout the region.
The Fort Worth will use its capabilities to build capacityand enhance multilateral ties in the 2015 Cooperation Afloat Readiness andTraining exercise series, a yearly meeting of nine partner navies in South andSouth-east Asia. 
Exercises are essential. But we believe the most meaningfulinteractions are those that will occur as the officers and sailors aboard theFort Worth explore the region, learn new skills, and build understanding withtheir naval counterparts - developing relationships that will serve the US andAsia long after the Fort Worth returns to San Diego. 
Most of our young naval ambassadors are between the ages of18 and 25, and represent the future of the US Navy. By travelling more than8,000 nautical miles across the sea for a 16-month deployment, they continue anaval tradition that has connected the people of the US with Asia forgenerations. 
Aboard the Fort Worth, they will engage regional navies onbehalf of our shared security and rising economic prosperity. This is good forAmerica, and for the region - now and for many years to come.**                    SHARE                **                    PRINT                USPACOMUSS Fort Worth