The State Department has to get into the Pacific and develop some kind of regional defense pact. Having said that, I am pleased by some of the moves being made by the Philippine armed forces (I will point out that some of the decisions seem to be made more in fear than as a part of a plan to modernize their forces).
This is another one of those cases where SOCOM has rushed in and is providing advisors to fight insurgents in the hills while the rest of the country is focused on the real threat that the Chinese represent. What the Philippines needs isn't jungle fighters. They're almost breed in the countryside to be able to operate in that area. What they need are experts from our Surface Warfare, Anti-Sub, Aviation and Mechanized Infantry Community to show them how to deal with a modern force that is networked and operating in a combined arms fashion across Air-Land-Sea-UnderSea and Cyber.
If Hagel isn't lying about the effects of sequestration then this fall will tell us all we need to know about how things will play out in the Pacific.
Those that believe that a conventional war will not take place or rather could not take place are fooling themselves. We're radiating weakness from the highest parts of our defense establishment. Quite honestly if I was a Chinese or Iranian General I would simply wait till the fall to see if sequestration hits. If it does, wait until US ground forces have finished shedding all personnel and then strike in a coordinated effort on two sides of the world.
Our future "super small but high tech force" won't stand a chance.
