Military Presence to Continue, U.S. Reassures Southeast Asia : Security: Christopher says America will stay active in the region. ‘They want us here,’ a U.S. official asserts.

The Clinton Administration assured apprehensive Southeast Asian democracies Monday that the United States will maintain its current military presence in the region, despite its push to cut U.S. troop strength in Europe, and that it will move to enhance American military capability in South Korea.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher told foreign ministers of countries belonging to the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that “the United States will remain actively engaged in Asia” and that “America is and will remain an Asia-Pacific power” for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, Christopher sought--and apparently won--broad support from ASEAN members for other key Administration proposals for increasing global security, including a worldwide moratorium on nuclear testing, extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and negotiation of a comprehensive test-ban treaty.

The message, which Christopher and Undersecretary of Defense Frank G. Wisner also underscored in bilateral meetings with the ministers, was designed to calm fears among U.S. allies here that the Administration is preparing to pull back from the traditional U.S. leadership role in the region.

“They want us here, and we’ve been assuring them that we’re going to be here,” a senior U.S. official later told reporters at a briefing.

Besides Singapore, ASEAN members are Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. South Korea is associated with the group as a “dialogue partner.”

U.S. officials said the move to enhance the U.S. military capability in South Korea will focus mainly on improving battlefield firepower and intelligence-gathering and will not involve adding to the 37,000 U.S. troops now stationed in the country.

The George Bush Administration initially had planned to cut U.S. troop strength in South Korea by about 6,500 soldiers but later decided to maintain current levels. President Clinton had talked of reinstating the plans for troop cuts, but he too has now decided to keep U.S. troop levels intact.

U.S. officials said the continuing strong U.S. military presence would be part of a package of proposals to improve regional security in Asia. Such a package also would include increasing the mobility of U.S. forces and modernizing the armed forces of some ASEAN countries.

They said the Administration will also seek to work out new security arrangements with Asian countries that would provide for more contacts between U.S. and ASEAN-member forces.

Christopher told the ministers in his speech that “in the near future, the United States will launch new efforts” to help control exports of technology and components of weapons for mass destruction, but he stopped short of providing any details.

The growing apprehension over possible cuts to the U.S. military presence in Asia stemmed from a series of factors, including Clinton’s push to cut the size of the armed forces and recent remarks by a senior State Department official that America is reducing its leadership role.

Although Asian countries have been encouraged by the end of the Cold War, they have become increasingly fearful of North Korea and China.

* WEAPONS FROM RUSSIA: Russia challenges West for Asian arms sales. World Report