New Trident's role in Asia-Pacific Pivot???

The Obama Administration continues to doggedly pursue the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would stretch from Chile to Japan and - Ooops! - exclude China. China, of course, has its own ideas about trade partnerships at this stage in the game, and is pursuing its own agenda.

"Obama had hoped his foreign policy “pivot” toward Asia would shift U.S. government attention away from trouble spots like Afghanistan and Iraq and toward a region brimming with economic opportunities." His strategy for exploiting "economic opportunities" seems to be the old school methodology - shift as many military assets into the region (can you say gunboat diplomacy???) as possible and see how it plays out.

The article below, which touts the need for expanding the capabilities ($$$$$$$) of the shipyard that will build the next generation ballistic missile submarines (as well as more tactical subs) for the United States, makes it crystal clear that all of this is about the "U.S. foreign policy's pivot to Asia." The article also makes it clear that it's also about "the ability to project power from the sea."

One might well ask what ballistic missile submarines bristling with enough thermonuclear weaponry  (just one Trident submarine) to incinerate and render uninhabitable an entire region has to do with any reasonable strategy for sensibly engaging economic opportunities in Asia (or elsewhere).

Should the US should be thinking more about how to deal with its future resource needs in a way that precludes (dangerous and risky) gunboat diplomacy? Do nuclear weapons have any rational place in any part of the Asia-Pacific Pivot (or anywhere else for that matter).

For now, these critical questions will not be asked while we continue the march to the (East China) Sea.

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EB Chief Says Nuclear Sub Demand Could Mean Major Shipyard Improvements

By Brian Dowling, January 15, 2015, Originally published in the Hartford Courant

GROTON — The head of Electric Boat said Thursday that revived demand for nuclear submarines as part of the U.S. foreign policy's pivot to Asia will result in $500 million being spent over the next decade to upgrade the company's shipyard here.

"The Department of Defense strategy tends to favor the Navy and the ability to project power from the sea," said Electric Boat President Jeffrey S. Geiger.

Considering that strategy, and the need to replace an aging fleet of the Navy's tactical submarines, the submarine program should prevail over the challenges of a shrinking military budget and the possibility of additional forced budget cuts that could reappear in 2016, Geiger said.

To handle the coming work, Electric Boat plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on facilities and machinery. The largest chunk would pay for an expansion of the company's assembly building, which currently fits just one submarine at a time.

With Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics, expecting to begin construction of new Ohio Class replacement submarines in 2019, the Groton assembly building will need room to piece together one Ohio Class submarine and one Virginia Class submarine.

Geiger expects that the replacement Ohio Class program will reach $100 billion, and given that Electric Boat has led its early-stage design, hopes the company would land the contract to build the submarines. But the Pentagon has given few hints at how it would award contracts.

"Whether this is going to be a competition, we don't know," Geiger said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said there is a dire need to replace the Ohio Class fleet. Their nuclear reactors were originally planned to run 30 years but have been extended to 42 years.

If all goes as planned, Electric Boat expects it will need another thousand workers by 2030 at its Groton and New London locations; the two now employ about 9,000. Payroll for the whole company would jump to 18,000 from its current 12,500, Geiger said.

Electric Boat has placed a bid to pick up submarine maintenance work that the U.S. military's backlogged shipyards need covered. Winning that bid could add as many as 600 jobs, according to a company presentation.

Copyright © 2015, Hartford Courant
Source URL: http://www.courant.com/business/hc-electric-boat-nuclear-sub-demand-0116-20150115-story.html

Asia-Pacfic Pivot and the Dangers of Trident

Friends,

The United States' Asia-Pacific Pivot continues to move full speed ahead, as the military continues to re-position existing resources from other regions and develop new bases and weapons systems to ensure containment of China and overall control of those we consider our adversaries (read competitors for strategic resources) in this region.

Among the myriad changes are the naval base (in construction) on Jeju Island, South Korea that will serve (among other things) US missile defense destroyers and the shift in nuclear weapons toward Asia.

We have seen a shift in basing of the OHIO Class "Trident" ballistic missile submarines from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  Currently, of the 14 total Trident subs, 8 of them are based at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington State, a definite reversal of basing from earlier Cold War days.

The Trident nuclear weapons system has become what is arguably the greatest symbol of U.S. force projection around the world.  It is absolutely the most powerful destructive force ever designed and deployed, and is indeed a formidable symbol of power projection.
China has taken notice, and continues (with some difficulties along the way) to develop its submarine launched ballistic missile capabilities.  China knows, however, that it's submarine fleet would be vulnerable to U.S. control of "choke points" around the region should a conflict ever develop.

For many years, Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) have issued carefully researched reports on various nations' nuclear forces.  In years past these valuable reports have been (or at least seem to have been) largely ignored by the mainstream media.  That appears to be changing along with the tensions building in the Asian region due to continued U.S. military buildup.

The Korea Herald published an article on January 13th - 60% of U.S. submarine reconnaissance focused on Pacific. The article is brief and gets directly to the point(s), stating that:

More than 60 percent of U.S. submarine-based reconnaissance activities are focused on Pacific areas including the Korean Peninsula, according to a recent report by two American nuclear experts. According to the report on U.S. nuclear forces by American scientists Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, Washington has deployed 14 Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines, equipped with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles, to the Pacific and Atlantic operational areas for nuclear deterrence. Observers say the U.S.’ strengthened operations in the Pacific indicate its growing concerns about nuclear capabilities of its potential adversaries such as China and North Korea.

The graphic that accompanies the article:

Key to the whole Asia-Pacific Pivot is the fact that it is driven by "national security" interests and is driven by a deeply embedded Military-Industrial Complex and archaic Cold War thinking.  Nuclear weapons that, quite ironically, are central to the strategy of the pivot, are essentially useless as "weapons."  Some of the submarines that patrol the Pacific are on 24 hour alert status, are prepared to launch their thermonuclear-armed Trident II D-5 missiles quickly, on command.  

Should our submarine forces ever launch any of these weapons, not only would those who are targeted be incinerated by these horrific weapons, but people of other nations in the region would be irreparably harmed as well. Nuclear weapons, once released, are uncontrollable in space and time.  The effects simply cannot be contained, and even a limited regional war would be a disaster affecting not only the region, but would be felt on a global scale (as has been determined from studies of limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan).

Essentially, nuclear weapons can never be used, and the U.S. is creating the very conditions by which they are most likely TO be used.  Trident is at the heart of this dangerous game of nuclear risk being played out via the Asia-Pacific Pivot.  At the same time, there is no apparent diplomacy going on among the nations involved in this dangerous game to reverse the nuclear danger.

It is up to the U.S. to take the first step in this process and make a good faith effort to initiate discussions with Asian nations about reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.  A critical first step, besides a pledge of No First Use, would be taking weapons of Alert Status. Having weapons on alert status increased the risk of accidental (and irreversible) launch of nuclear weapons during a crisis.

Trident is an archaic, first-strike, Cold War weapons system that stays vital not only through shear inertia, but also by virtue of its extraordinary power as a symbol of U.S. force projection. The irony of this situation is that it is a weapon system that can (and must) not ever be used.  The more tragic irony is that Trident is slated for replacement with an entire new fleet of 12 submarines, with construction beginning in 2021.  This plan has been pushed through without any real debate about the issues of "nuclear deterrence" and what useful purpose Trident could serve for many more decades.

Since the government refuses to engage in such a critical discussion and debate before entering into such an expensive ($100 billion estimated construction cost for 12 subs) and risky program, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is asking the tough questions and challenging New Trident.  

The NO To NEW TRIDENT campaign seeks to challenge the shaky foundation that underlies the Navy's plans and demonstrate that a new generation of Trident will by no means make the U.S., its allies, or the rest of the world safer.  The continued deployment of thermonuclear weapons ready to launch 24/7 is a recipe for disaster.  The only way to assure the elimination of the nuclear risk is to eliminate the nuclear weapons, and this can only come though dialogue with the other nations.

Let the dialogue begin!!!  

Learn more at the NO To NEW TRIDENT Website/Blog at notnt.org. NO To NEW TRIDENT is a campaign of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (gzcenter.org)..

Click here to read US Nuclear Forces, 2014.

URL for article in The Korea Herald:  http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140113000678