New threats will not distract US from Asia

SINGAPORE, May 30 (agencies): The United States will not be deterred from plans to strengthen its military position in Asia by emerging threats elsewhere, the US defense secretary said Thursday as he prepared to meet allies in the region worried by an increasingly assertive China.

President Barack Obama, in a keynote foreign policy speech on Wednesday, surprised and disappointed some in Asia when he made no specific reference to what has been a signature policy theme of his administration, the rebalancing of US military, political and economic focus toward Asia.

He talked at length instead about emerging threats, including by militants operating from the North African region.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters en route for Singapore, where he will speak at a regional security forum before heading on to Afghanistan and Europe, that the US commitment to Asia was as strong as ever.

"What the president said yesterday and his explanation in addressing the emerging threats in all corners of the word will not inhibit, or shorten, or lessen our asset position here in the rebalancing to the Asia Pacific," he said when asked if resources earmarked for Asia after the winding down of the Iraq and Afghan wars might be rediverted to deal with the new threats Obama referred to.

"That doesn't diminish at all the commitment, nor will it, that we have made to this rebalance in Asia and the Pacific."

Hagel said he would have no fewer than 10 bilateral meetings and three tri-lateral meetings aimed at reinforcing relationships and calming tensions during his two days starting Friday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum that brings together defense and security experts and officials from Asia, the United States and Australia.

It will be Hagel's fifth visit to Asia since he became secretary of defense last year. He was last in the region two months ago ahead of a visit by Obama. US Secretary of State John Kerry has also visited Asia this year.

"The visits are part of showing our commitments to this Asia Pacific rebalance," Hagel said.

Hagel's meetings will include a brief one with a Chinese army general heading China's delegation to the forum. Hagel said he would be "direct" about areas of difference, while seeking to develop military-to-military contacts aimed at improving communication and defusing tensions.