National Guard engagement in the Pacific no threat to security

Abstract

This thesis evaluates recent decisions to expand the National Guard (NGB) State Partnership Program into the Asia-Pacific region and examines potential effects this expansion will have on the new partners created there. It predicts likely responses from non-participants and defends the program against critics who argue that engagement activities draw personnel and resources away from primary war fighting objectives. It examines European engagement programs developed through NATO in the mid-1980s, assessing their evolution and present activities. Specifically, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) and the National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) are addressed. This evaluation provides a foundation for prescribing changes to the SPP doctrine for future relationships throughout the Asia-Pacific region. From this evidence the main body of work focuses on predictions of applying this regionally specific model. It looks particularly at evolutionary characteristics needed to make the program feasible, discussing current partnerships and those countries awaiting future consideration. Mongolia is addressed in detail, being the newest member country petitioning for partnership. Finally, and most important, the extent to which the program affects regional stability is assessed, focusing specifically on China as it ushers in its fourth generation of leadership and continues to open itself to the outside world.