Word: buildups
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Asian security and the Soviet military buildup: Together with the U.S., in Korea we are defending not only northeast Asia but by extension global peace. It is the view of many that each country throughout the world must do its share. The U.S. has been the defender of the free world, but today it cannot do it alone. Japan could make a greater contribution and help the U.S. defense budget. It could help to keep the sea lanes open and get involved more in air defense...
Indeed, another motive for the Soviet buildup around Japan is probably the Soviet Union's desire to guard against a possible Japanese-American-Chinese military alliance some day in the future. The Kremlin's concern over China alone has already led it to amass 46 divisions-nearly a quarter of its total ground forces-along the Sino-Soviet border...
...third Soviet purpose in the present buildup in the Far East entails a more direct and immediate threat to the U.S.: Soviet submarines armed with missiles targeted on the U.S. have tended to take up their stations in the open waters of the North Pacific, between Hawaii and Alaska. Their movements can be monitored relatively easily by U.S. antisubmarine warfare (ASW) forces. But the latest Soviet submarines, fitted with new longer-range missiles, could hit targets in the continental U.S. from farther awayfrom the Sea of Okhotsk north of Hokkaido, which is sheltered by the Soviet mainland, a peninsula...
While the Soviets have been accelerating their naval buildup, the U.S. in recent years has fallen behind slightly in both new warships and naval aircraft. The Soviet Pacific fleet is now the largest anywhere in the world, totaling 319 armed warships, compared with 171 in the U.S. Seventh Fleet. The Soviet Union has increased its naval tonnage in the Pacific by 18% in just the past three years. Despite the Soviet numerical advantage, American vessels by and large are technically more sophisticated, carry more firepower and have more experienced crews. Because the Seventh Fleet must do double duty, however, patrolling...
...Soviet defense grouping in the Far East, spearheaded by the U.S., will depend mainly on two factors: first, whether Soviet activity in the region continues to frighten the countries there in the direction of such a grouping; and second, whether those countries are sufficiently impressed by the promised U.S. buildup to follow the American lead...