Christopher Tiong
Joint Vision 2020: US Plan for Global
Hegemony
Christopher
Rey Tiong
Introduction
This paper seeks to probe into the document released by the Department of
Defense of the United States of America (otherwise known as the “Pentagon”)
entitled “Joint Vision 2020”. This paper will delve deep into the merits and
various concerns of the said document and will extensively discuss its
rationale. This query on “Joint Vision 2020” is not only a very interesting
topic of discussion but also a very timely concern.
In the light of the supposed “War on Terrorism” that has tremendously
affected the peace situations in many countries; a comprehensive analysis of the
professed “guide” to action of the US armed forces seems to be
commonsensical, since it is one of the major actors in these events.
The “Joint Vision 2020” will be scrutinized through an objective
examination of the document, stating the different issues it encompasses, the
different terms it has formulated, and the various plans of the United States on
how to accomplish their various goals. A very comprehensive critique of the
document will follow. It will venture into the various statements that the US
government wants to proclaim, be they explicit proclamations or implicit. Also,
this paper will prod into the many implications of these proclamations of the
United States to the international community specifically in Asia.
The focal contention of this piece is that: the recent actions of the
United States of America in terms of establishing security communities in
various parts of the globe and specifically in Asia is not just in concurrence
to their so-called “war on terrorism” but also a ploy to increase its
military presence in Asia to achieve its goal of “full spectrum dominance”
in all military operations across the globe which is in accordance with the
goals of the “Joint Vision 2020” which was released a year before the
September 11 attacks.
Joint Vision 2020: A Background
Joint Vision 2020 is a document released on the 30th of May
2000 by the US Department of Defense. The document was duly-signed by the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Army General Henry Shelton. In its
introduction, it starts off by stating that there is an immediate need for the
transformation of the Armed Forces in order to be prepared for a very unclear
future. It warrants this contention by making it clear that the transformation
is not to change the principal role of the Armed Forces, which is to “fight
and win the Nation’s wars”. The transformation referred to is the
“creation of a force that is dominant across the full spectrum of military
operations – persuasive in peace, decisive in war, preeminent in any form of
conflict.” Furthermore, this document describes the various “operational
concepts”, which will enable the country to protect its numerous interests
around the globe.
The
main focus of the document is “full spectrum dominance”. The definition of
the term is very important and is very crucial in the transformation of the
Armed Forces. The definition and what the term encompasses are as follows:
“the
ability of US forces, operating unilaterally or in combination with
multinational and interagency partners, to defeat any adversary and control any
situation across the full range of military operations.
The
full range of operations includes maintaining a posture of strategic deterrence.
It includes theater engagement and presence activities. It includes conflict involving employment of strategic forces
and weapons of mass destruction, major theater wars, regional conflicts, and
smaller-scale contingencies. It
also includes those ambiguous situations residing between peace and war, such as
peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations, as well as noncombat humanitarian
relief operations and support to domestic authorities.
The
label full spectrum dominance implies that US forces are able to conduct prompt,
sustained, and synchronized operations with combinations of forces tailored to
specific situations and with access to and freedom to operate in all domains –
space, sea, land, air, and information. Additionally,
given the global nature of our interests and obligations, the United States must
maintain its overseas presence forces and the ability to rapidly project power
worldwide in order to achieve full spectrum dominance.”
In pursuance of such a goal, the document also provides operational
concepts such as “dominant maneuver, precision engagement, focused logistics
and full-dimensional protection.”
The document concludes with the reiteration of the importance of the
numerous operational concepts in terms of warfare in the future, which the
Pentagon deems necessary in order for the United States of America to protect
its global interests.
ASEAN: A Security Alliance
Recently, it has been reported that one of the major topics of discussion
in the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Brunei last year was that of the
transformation of the regional security forum into a “security group”.
ASEAN established the regional forum in 1994 in order to bring together
the different countries that have an effect on the Asia Pacific region in terms
of security and, also, to promote more stable relationships between them. Now,
it has become the largest forum in dealing with security issues in the region.
The forum is now attended by foreign ministers from different countries among
which include China, North and South Koreas, Australia, the United States, the
European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Russia,
Canada and the Southeast Asian nations.
Historically, the ASEAN has been quite reluctant in establishing formal
security agreements because of its long-standing doctrine of non-interference in
the internal affairs of each other. In the light of the “war on terrorism”,
however, the Secretary of State Colin Powell appeals to member-states to
reconsider because he insists that the ARF can play an important role in the
fight for international terrorism.
But this proposal of the US forwarded to the ARF is highly fraught with
suspicion. This paper argues that the plan to increase the presence of United
States (US) Military forces in Asia, which is a direct consequence of the honing
of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) into a security alliance, is
definitely not just a result of September 11 but of the broader American foreign
policy hinged on its aspirations for global hegemony and thus will not be
working for the interest of Southeast Asia.
Clearly, the Joint Vision 2020 is a factor that supports this claim. If
you look closer, there is more to the Joint Vision 2020 that meets the eye. One
might think that the different operational concepts discussed in the paper are
merely concepts and are nothing to be afraid of. But in closer scrutiny, one
would realize that these are not merely concepts but rather blueprints and one
can only imagine the power that the US Armed Forces would hold once these plans
of the US come to pass.
We must, therefore, realize that the Joint Vision 2020 is not just a
simple document released by the Pentagon for the sake of publicity of for the
public clamor for their right to information on the affairs of the government.
It is more than that. Walden Bello (2000) exclaims that the Joint Vision 2020 is
a “forceful affirmation of both Asia and Europe as US military
protectorates” (p.1). Also, we must see that the current trend in that there
is an apparent shift of focus, in terms of military presence, to Asia rather
than to Europe. Apparently, the US is subtly viewing China as a competitor in
the region. In line with this, the US has taken steps in order to “contain”
China, which is expected to have greater power, sooner or later, with greater
influence over neighboring countries. Processes employed to subdue the growth of
influence of China in the region are the following. Major Army, Navy, and Air
Force war games are now being conducted in Asia, specifically in Korea and the
Persian Gulf. Second, new basing agreements are being established between US and
different Asian countries. In the Philippines, the Americans used the fear
economic instability to re-install its troops in the country. Singapore and
Australia have become functional allies in the region while the US is
negotiating with Vietnam to help in surrounding China. India is also being wooed
to deepen the US – India Alliance against China (Gerson, 2000). Truly, the US
is viewing China as a threat to its global hegemony that it considers it
essential for its forces to have a continued presence in the region.
Aside from containing the China threat, US still seeks to keep its major
influence on Southeast Asia. The pentagon has been extensively formulating ways
on how to facilitate its so-called re-entry to Southeast Asia. It has sought to
construct diplomatic as well as political frameworks to achieve this goal. A
model for this re-entry will be the Philippines because of the Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA), the American troops just have frequent joint military exercises
instead of establishing bases (Bello, 2000). The rationale is that it gives the
US advantages in terms of military location, which it can use to promote its
goal of “full spectrum dominance”. Another advantage is that, with the VFA,
it can have the military location without the added expenses in the maintenance
of a base. This is cheaper and much more effective.
With these examples, one can see that the US is trying to be a super
power capable of shaping the world forever. With these, one can see the true
interest of the United States in the establishment of a security alliance in the
region. Such an act from the member-states will be a very big mistake because a
security alliance such as that will only be used by the United States to achieve
its sought after “full spectrum dominance”.
America’s thirst for global hegemony is blatantly manifested in Joint
Vision 2020. This mindset is deeply imbedded in the document, which has
separated the notion of national security to the idea of the nation’s national
interests; since the interests are assumed to include the projection of power
everywhere and all the time. The document exposes the unbridled unilateralism of
the strategic community in Washington that considers the progress of any country
anywhere in the world as an automatic threat to the United States. The
consequence of this mindset makes the United States, instead of being an agent
for world peace, would become the world’s police. This will eventually result
to the rise of new untold enemies, the loss of untold billions and serve none of
America’s interests (Trifkovic, 2000).
Conclusion
The Joint Vision of 2020 is a blatant reminder of the continuous clamor
for power of the United States. The thirst for power has now corrupted them and
they are now on their way to establishing a government that can have its way on
anything it wishes to do. The country has now formally informed the world that
it is set on global domination and those who go against it will surely perish.
This is the message of the United States to the world, which is presented in a
very nice package called “full spectrum dominance”.
Their country’s audacity to tell this to the world, to expose their
master plan, tells something about them. It just goes to show that they are
utterly and supremely confident that no one would have the courage to stand up
to what they want to plan to do in the next twenty years. The ASEAN should not
take these proclamations sitting down. It should not be fooled with the rhetoric
of “war on terrorism” that is being used by the Americans to warrant their
requests for the increased military presence in the region. The ASEAN should not
let itself be used by the Americans in order to achieve global hegemony. Let us
stop being mendicant to the foreign policy of the US. Let us finds ways in order
to stop this plan of global domination. Let us voice out our contentions now
before it’s too late. “Full spectrum dominance”…. Sounds like fascism to
me….