USA: HSM Wing Pacific continues Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative exercise

By Lt. Adam Arndt, HSM Weapons School Pacific Public Affairs

In this file photo, Peruvian submarine BAP Pisagua (SS 33) arrives at Naval Base Point Loma in July for phase one of DESI-EX. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Derek Harkins) >>

SAN DIEGO - Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific (CHSMWP) began phase two of the annual Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative Exercise (DESI-EX), an international exercise held annually in conjunction with South American naval forces, Sept. 8, 2017.

DESI-EX is an undersea warfare exercise that allows MH-60R aircraft from various CHSMWP and Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) commands the ability to practice their anti-submarine warfare (ASW) skills against a skilled, foreign adversary in a variety of challenging environments. The event was organized by HSM Weapons School Pacific (HSMWSP) in coordination with Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic International Programs and Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, and will take place on the Southern California Offshore Range and Tanner Bank operating area.

Phase one of the exercise took place July 15 - 20 and involved aircraft and crews from six CHSMWP and three MPRA squadrons that completed 29 sorties over the course of 147 flight hours. Participants trained alongside the Peruvian Navy submarine BAP Pisagua (SS 33), a German Type 209 diesel-electric submarine, to refine their ASW and tactical acumen.

News Story: DPRK condemns U.S. VP's attempt to turn LatAm against Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday condemned U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's pressure on some Latin American countries to break ties with Pyongyang, saying this is another example of U.S. interference into other countries' internal affairs.

"This was not the first time for the U.S. to urge the countries which have friendly and cooperative relations with the DPRK to sever the diplomatic and economic relations with it," the DPRK official Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs as saying.

On Wednesday, Pence called several Latin American countries to join U.S. efforts to isolate the DPRK.

Read the full story at Xinhua

USA: U.S. Forces Work With Partners in Numerous Military Exercises

By Terri Moon Cronk 

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2017 — Military exercises are underway between U.S. military forces and those of many other nations, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters today.

In the Pacific region, Exercise Talisman Saber 2017 involves more than 33,000 U.S. and Australian personnel who are participating in the biennial military training exercise in Australia, June 23 to July 25.

U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force personnel, as well as Australian forces and members of other government agencies in both countries are participating in Talisman Saber, which is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and the Australian military's Joint Operations Command.

It features 21 ships, including the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, and more than 200 joint aircraft. This year's seventh iteration of the exercise is focusing on training a combined task force of U.S. and Australian forces in a mid-intensity, high-end warfighting scenario, incorporating interagency participation, along with a command post exercise involving a transition between a three- and four-star headquarters.

"Talisman Saber provides an invaluable opportunity to conduct operations in a combined, joint and interagency environment that will increase both countries' ability to plan and execute contingency responses, from combat missions to humanitarian assistance efforts," Davis said.

News Story: Pacific Alliance to open trade talks with four countries

SANTIAGO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Latin American trade bloc Pacific Alliance (AP) will begin formal negotiations in September towards a trade agreement with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore, officials announced on Wednesday.

Paulina Nazal, head of International Economic Relations at the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Chile, one of the bloc's four founding members, said the AP's negotiating team will first gather in Lima, Peru between Sept. 3 and 4.

Alliance members Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile hope to quickly wrap up trade talks with the four countries, which currently have associated state status, she said.

To that end, "the chief negotiators will meet with the legal advisers of the eight countries to agree on the terms of the negotiations," said Nazal.

"There is great interest in concluding these negotiations, or in announcing the terms of the negotiations, ideally by the opening of the next Pacific Alliance summit, which is going to be in the middle of the year," added Nazal.

While there are existing trade agreements between the eight states, the new talks hope to expand those accords within the framework of the AP.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: 11 TPP countries to meet in Japan

Hanoi (VNA) – Representatives from 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries are expected to meet in Hakone town, west of Tokyo, Japan on July 12.

The three-day meeting follows a breakthrough last week on a Japan-European Union trade deal reached after four years of negotiation, which marks a great advance in free trade in the context of the US pulling back from the TPP.

Other TPP members hope to make progress on an alternative that does not include the US called “TPP 11” or “TPP 12-1” before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam in November.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Expert says Pacific Alliance to serve as LatAm's tool to expand trade integration with Asia

by Carlos Acat

LIMA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc founded by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru in 2011, stands to outperform its regional counterparts and contribute to the continent's closer ties with Asia, Peruvian economist Carlos Aquino has said.

Acquino, an Asia expert and director of the Economic Research Institute at the National University of San Marcos in Lima, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the strength of the Pacific Alliance (AP) lies in the fact that its members not only share a common goal, but also are fundamentally similar.

The AP is holding its 12th meeting in Cali, Colombia, Thursday through Friday.

"Of all the Latin American integration blocs, such as the Community of Andean Nations (CAN) or the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), it's the one that can succeed the most, because it is a homogeneous group of representative democracies with market economies and an interest in Asia," he said.

According to Aquino, the four nations within the AP have already established free trade between each other, and 92 percent of the goods trade are duty free. "The remainder will be liberalized in 15 years at the latest," he added.

The main weakness of the bloc -- which has 52 observer countries, including China -- is that it is fairly new, the expert said, adding that insufficient transport and communication infrastructure has hindered intra-bloc flow of people as well as trade ties with Asia.

"Here, China can help," said Aquino, who pointed out that Chinese investment, the extension of the Belt and Road Initiative into Latin America, as well as increased air routes and e-commerce platforms are all needed to help local companies connect with Asia.

Read the full story at Xinhua

Related Stories:

• Australia launches free trade negotiations with Pacific Alliance
• Peru hails new associated countries with Pacific Alliance

News Story: Seminar seeks to tighten ASEAN-Pacific Alliance linkages

Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar was held in Hanoi on May 22 to discuss ways to support Vietnam’s role as coordinator of ASEAN’s relations with the Pacific Alliance (PA), thus strengthening cooperative ties between the two blocs and between Vietnam and the PA.

The event was part of the PA Week in Hanoi from May 22-28, with a range of activities such as gastronomy, a film festival and a photo and product exhibition.

The seminar was attended by senior officials of Vietnam and PA members, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, along with representatives of 49 embassies and Vietnamese firms, which are interested in Latin American markets.

In his opening speech, Secretary-General of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Eduardo Pedrosa highlighted the goals of the PA, including building a deeply integrated region; promoting growth, development and competitiveness of the member economies; and forming a forum on political cooperation as well as economic and trade integration.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Negotiators fail to present concrete path to U.S.-less TPP

TORONTO -- Top negotiators from the 11 countries participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact wrapped up a two-day meeting here on May 3, after reaching an agreement to continue negotiations over the accord despite the pullout of the United States.

However, negotiators failed to present a concrete road map toward implementing the TPP, as the signatory nations have different motivations for participating in the far-reaching pact. Topics for discussions were pushed forward to a ministerial meeting to be held in Vietnam later this month.

On Day 2 of the meeting, negotiators were engaged in full-scale discussions on a path to bringing the TPP into effect. After the meeting, Japan's chief TPP negotiator Keiichi Katakami, deputy minister for foreign affairs, told reporters, "Participating countries shared the feeling that we needed to move the discussion forward so we didn't lose momentum as we weighed the significance of the TPP."

A negotiator from a country enthusiastic about early TPP implementation also lauded the conference, saying, "It was a very successful meeting."

However, participating countries face domestic skepticism about the efficacy of the pact, which they had joined expecting greater access to the world's largest market: the United States. How to dispel such reservations was also a subject of debate, but negotiators failed to find a breakthrough and wrapped up the meeting nearly three hours earlier than scheduled.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: Pacific trade negotiators explore TPP deal without US

Hanoi (VNA) – Negotiators from 11 member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement gathered for a meeting in Toronto, Canada on May 2 to explore the possibility of putting the trade pact into force without the US. 

Japan’s chief negotiator, Keiichi Katakami on May 1-2 met with nine out of his ten counterparts to lay the groundwork for the two-day meeting. 

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Katakami stressed the 11 countries need to unite to enable the deal to take effect. 

Japan hopes to strike a new deal by mid-November when Vietnam will host a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, he added.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Why It's Vitally Important for Japan to Sustain Relations Within TPP Without US

Japan is planning to put the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact into force without the US, following Washington's withdrawal from the agreement in January and after it became clear that the US would not oppose such a move. Radio Sputnik talked to Dr. Seijiro Takeshita, a Japanese expert in trade, on the viability of the decision.

Japan plans to push forward talks to put a Pacific Rim trade pact (TPP) into force without the United States, which withdrew from the multi-nation agreement in January, local media reported on Saturday, citing sources in the government.

The TPP was signed in February 2016 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. These countries account for around 40 percent of the global economy; China was not a member.

According to the reports, Tokyo approached its counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with an alternate plan.

News Story: TPP member states commit to regional economic, trade integration

Buenos Aires (VNA) – Member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) committed to seeking a new path to promote regional economic and trade integration during a high-level meeting in the Chilean city of Vina del Mar on March 15. 

It was their first such gathering after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the ambitious trade deal in late January.

Addressing the media, Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said participants voiced concern over protectionism in many parts of the world and reiterated their commitment to work together to keep markets free and open, advance regional economic integration and strengthen the rules-based international trading system.

According to him, 11 TPP member countries, excluding the US, affirmed the importance of the deal and mentioned various options going forward.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Chile calls for Asia-Pacific integration

Buenos Aires (VNA) – Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Munoz said he will push for Asia-Pacific integration, free trade and anti-protectionism at the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting in Vina del Mar city, Chile on March 14-15.

Speaking to the press before the meeting, the minister stressed that it took place in a sensitive context for the global economy, with protectionism likely to grow. Thus, TPP member states need to determine whether to continue with economic and trade integration, he added.

The meeting was held to discuss saving the TPP after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the trade deal.

The other 11 TPP member countries need to restart negotiations, Munoz said, pledging that Chile is willing to give support to the dialogue to take advantage of the agreed parts of the deal after nearly a decade of negotiation.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Pacific Alliance eager to cooperate with RCEP, says Peru president

LIMA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Thursday night that the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; PA) were eager for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free-trade deal to become a reality.

In a press conference, Kuczynski told Xinhua that Peru was keen to join the RCEP, either alone or with its Pacific Alliance partners.

"We have a free-trade agreement (FTA) with China, and we have separate agreements with South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. We will try to broaden this with an effort through the Alliance. However, not all countries within the Alliance have the same agreements...In the Cali Summit, in two months, we will see how we face this. Obviously, we would prefer to do this through the Alliance," said the president.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: New Zealand pushes TPP without US

Hanoi (VNA) – New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay called on the 11 remaining member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to discuss the next step for the trade deal after the US pulled out.

The New Zealand trade chief made the statement in Tokyo on February 8 during his visit to Japan to hear the views of other TPP members regarding the future of the pact.

During an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News in Tokyo, he said a meeting of ministers from the TPP member countries could take place in Chile in March, adding that "It's too soon for us to give up on that achievement after nine years of negotiation," describing the deal as a "high quality" agreement.

According to McClay, there are a range of views among the countries but one option could be going ahead with the trade deal even without the US.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Australia "won't walk away" from free trade despite TPP blow - government

CANBERRA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Australia will work with the remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations and look to other nations to salvage what it can of the doomed free trade agreement after U.S. President Donald Trump's overnight decision to withdraw from the deal, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said.

Following Trump's decision to axe America's involvement, effectively leaving the deal in its current form 'dead in the water', Ciobo has already said other nations which were a part of the original deal had opened up discussion lines about a potential replacement, as the Trump decision was "not unexpected".

"We are not going to walk away from pursuing high quality trade deals that are good for Australian exports," Ciobo told Sky News on Tuesday.

He said there was a possibility that a "TPP 12 minus one" deal, which would involve the remaining 11 signatories, could get off the ground as the Australian government had been in close contact with representatives from the original TPP nations.

"A number of us had a conversation about a possible 'TPP 12 minus one' in other words, the Trans-Pacific Partnership minus the United States in order to keep hold of the gains we've been able to agree (upon)," Ciobo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday.

"I've had conversations with Canada, Japan, Mexico, with New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. I know there have been conversations with Chie and Peru.

"There are quite a number of countries that have an interest in looking to see if we could make a 'TPP 12 minus one'."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: US withdraws from Trans-Pacific Partnership deal

Hanoi (VNA) - US President Donald Trump signed a decree to withdraw his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first official working day in the White House on January 23.

Trump said the TPP, which grouped the US and 11 economic partners in Asia Pacific, will harm manufacturing and production in the US, and deprive US citizens of jobs. 

The deal had been discussed since 2009, during the presidency of Barack Obama, but the US Congress never ratified the agreement, and many legislators opposed it, or expressed doubts about its profitability

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Australia, Japan to fast-track TPP vote to pressure U.S.

CANBERRA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will attempt to fast-track a Parliamentary vote to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in a joint ploy by Japan and Australia to pressure the United States into signing the deal.

U.S President-elect Donald Trump, who is due to take office on Jan. 20, has previously said there is no way he would ratify the deal as he moves towards creating a more protectionist America.

Following meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the weekend, Turnbull said he would encourage the other 10 nations to approve the deal in order to pressure the U.S. Congress into signing the agreement despite presidential disapproval, News Corp reported Monday.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pacific Alliance boosts cooperation with ASEAN

Hanoi (VNA) – Forging partnership with ASEAN is among priorities of the Pacific Alliance amid global integration, as heard at the bloc’s summit in Bogota, Colombia, on December 15.

At the meeting, trade and foreign deputy ministers from four Pacific Alliance members – Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru – discussed measures to implement cooperation with ASEAN in line with the ASEAN-Pacific Alliance Framework for Cooperation signed in New York in late September.

They also acknowledged progress made by the bloc in diplomacy and business management and agreed to stimulate ties with observer states and partners in the region. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Australia Considers TPP Without US

Phil Mercer

SYDNEY — Australian experts are divided over whether the world's biggest trade deal could survive without the United States. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, on his first day in office. The agreement includes the US, Australia and ten other countries.

Donald Trump has dismissed the TPP as a job-killing “disaster” and has said he would scrap the proposed agreement when he becomes US president in January. Trump has promised to instead negotiate bilateral trade deals that would “bring back American jobs.”

The TPP was signed by 12 countries earlier this year, and covers 40% of the world's economy. To come into force, it must be ratified by February 2018, but there is disagreement if it could proceed if the US walks away.

News Story: New Zealand Trade Minister to raise TPP with Asia-Pacific counterparts

WELLINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay will be flying for open markets and the seemingly doomed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at APEC talks in Peru this week.

McClay said Wednesday he would attend the annual APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting in Lima where he expected to hold talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and the TPP.

"The Asia-Pacific region remains a top trade focus for New Zealand. At this time it is important New Zealand continues to show leadership in defense of open markets and fair trade access," said McClay.

"This year's meeting is an opportunity to discuss new ways to boost economic growth by increasing competitiveness and removing trade barriers for services," he said in a statement.

Trade and foreign ministers from 20 other APEC economies, accounting for half of global trade and 60 percent of world gross domestic product, would also discuss APEC's proposed FTAAP, policies to support the future skilled workforce, and how to enhance the regional food market.

Read the full story at Xinhua