Abstract
Hawaii is located almost in the center of the vast Pacific Ocean, which is bordered by the North American continent to the east, Japan to the west, and Australia to the south. It is made up of the eight larger islands of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui. It is the capital of this U.S. State of Hawaii, Honolulu, on Oahu, which houses the headquarters of the United States INDOPACOM. It is a gateway linking the United States and the Asian region. INDOPACOM holds a coordination and communication role in American military and diplomatic strategy both day and night. Awareness among America’s adversaries of INDOPACOM operations also increases the potential threats to Hawaii. This chapter will outline the extent of the role that Hawaii plays as a pillar for security in the Indo-Asia–Pacific region. Furthermore, we will also consider how Hawaii has played a central role in the process of the United States becoming a superpower both economically and militarily from the nineteenth century onward and how Hawaii has played an underlying support role in the story of Pacific Command as the oldest and largest of America’s geographic unified combatant commands.
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Notes
- 1.
Yujin Yaguchi (2002).
- 2.
For example, Commander Harris has said, "Hawaii remains the gateway to America’s rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific." Admiral Harry. B. Harris, “PACOM Commander Credits Hawaii’s Role in Indo-Asia-Pacific Rebalance,” January 16, 2016, https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/643413/pacom-commander-credits-hawaiis-role-in-indo-asia-pacificrebalance/ (accessed on February 4, 2018).
Additionally, in remarks at Hawaii's East–West Center, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “[Hawaii] is America’s gateway to Asia, and one of the loveliest places in the world.” Hillary Rodham Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century,” November 10, 2011, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2011/11/176999.htm (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 3.
An August 2016 interview by the author. Mizuho Kajiwara (2017), p. 33.
- 4.
In the fighting in the Philippines, conflict between a militia pledging allegiance to the extremist organization Islamic State and the Filipino government army continued in Marawi, Mindanao through May 2017. American forces inserted reconnaissance planes and special force troops to assist. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi as "liberated from terrorist influence" in October of that year.
- 5.
For reference only, consider the following. Searching “Nikkei Shimbun newspapers” and “nationwide newspapers” in the Nikkei Telecom database using the keyword “Pacific Command” yielded 5 hits for the 1950s, 10 for the 1960s, 6 for the 1970s, 211 for the 1980s, 678 for the 1990s, 1,122 for the 2000s, and 1,959 for the period from 2010 to February 4, 2018.
- 6.
Doing the same kind of search using the keywords “Commander Locklear” and “Commander Harris” for all time periods yielded 108 hits for Commander Locklear and as many as 462 hits for Commander Harris.
- 7.
Doing the same kind of search, there were 127 hits for Dennis Blair, who was Commander of Pacific Command at the time of the collision of the nuclear-powered US submarine USS Greeneville with the Ehime Prefectural Uwajima Fisheries High School training ship Ehime Maru and the sinking of Ehime Maru, as well as during the coordinated 9/11 terrorist attacks. There were 308 hits for Thomas Fargo, Blair's successor who also served as Pacific Fleet Commander during the Ehime Maru incident, 56 hits for Fargo’s successor William Fallon, 104 hits for Fallon's successor Timothy Keating, and 121 hits for Keating’s successor Robert Willard. This shows that Commander Harris has a larger scope of exposure in the Japanese media even when compared to figures in command during major incidents that were in the public eye.
- 8.
"Missile war readiness confirmed, Kim Jong-un orders mass production in North Korea," Asahi Shimbun, evening edition, May 22, 2017.
- 9.
Federal Communications Commission Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Preliminary Report: Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s January 13, 2018 False Ballistic Missile Alert, January 30, 2018, https://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2018/db0130/DOC-348923A1.pdf (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 10.
China launched the “Belt and Road Initiative” in 2013 and is strengthening relations with developing nations through large scale infrastructure investment projects such as power grids and harbors in the “New Silk Road Economic Belt” region spanning from China to Central Asia and West Asia on land, and at sea although the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (also called “String of Pearls”) ocean route spanning from the South China Sea to the Mediterranean Sea through the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Construction is advancing on Sri Lanka's Port of Colombo and Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, and the United States and ally nations such as India are concerned that PLA Navy warship presence will become the norm in the future.
- 11.
Pacific Command’s mission statement was updated on August 22, 2016. It states, “USPACOM protects and defends, in concert with other U.S. government agencies, the territory of the United States, its people, and its interests. With allies and partners, we will enhance stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression, and, when necessary, fighting to win.” “United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) Guidance,” http://www.pacom.mil/Portals/55/Documents/pdf/guidance_12_August_2016.pdf?ver=2016-08-16-140701-960 (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 12.
Mizuho Kajiwara (2017), p. 365. Part of Commander Harris' speech at the October 11, 2014 U.S. Japan Council Annual Conference in Hawaii is recorded at the website listed below. “Admiral Harry Harris’s Keynote Speech (Summary)—2014 Annual Conference,” https://www.usjapancouncil.org/ja/admiral-harry-harriss-keynote-speech-summary-2014-annual-conference/ (accessed on August 21, 2022).
- 13.
Kajiwara, Ibid., page 206–213. Refer to the same book for the scale of Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel stationed at the various Pacific Command headquarters.
- 14.
In addition to APCSS, there is the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, and the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies inside Washington DC's National Defense University.
- 15.
Regarding the history of Pacific Ocean communication cables and intercepting transmissions in Hawaii, Motohiro Tsuchiya, "Cyber Security and International Relations," (Chikura Shobo, 2015, in Japanese) has detailed information. In addition, regarding the Snowden incident, see Motohiro Tsuchiya, "The Century of Revelation – Cyber Terrorism Shaking Nation States" (Kadokawa, 2016, in Japanese).
- 16.
According to a Pew Research Center survey (conducted April 6, 2015), the indigenous population numbered between 200,000 and 1,000,000 people in 1778. Pew Research Center, “After 200 Years, Native Hawaiians Make a Comeback,” http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/06/native-hawaiian-population/ (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 17.
As of July 1, 2017, the state of Hawaii population was 1,427,538 people. "Hawaii Government, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism Census," http://census.hawaii.gov/whats-new-releases/2017-state-population-estimates/ (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 18.
In 1849, the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation on equal terms.
- 19.
Hiroaki Kanazawa (2009), pp. 147–148.
- 20.
Kanazawa, p. 156.
- 21.
Kanazawa, p. 153.
- 22.
Alfred T. Mahan (2008).
- 23.
Frederick Jackson Turner (1893).
- 24.
U.S. Department of State, Archive, “Annexation of Hawaii, 1898,” https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/17661.htm (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 25.
The first use of the phrase "Manifest Destiny" is thought to be in 1845 from American editor and columnist John O'Sullivan. It was used as a term justifying the expansion of the territorial dominance of the United States government.
- 26.
This gave the Secretary of War power to designate areas as military control regions. The West Coast, with a large Japanese-American population, was designated as such a region. The Japanese-Americans living there were designated for evacuation, and ultimately this led to forced relocation. For Hawaii, which was 40% Japanese-American at the time, only individuals who were seen as particularly dangerous were sent to the concentration camps.
- 27.
Regarding Daniel Inouye, the book "Journey to Washington" by Daniel Inouye and Lawrence Elliott (Japanese version: "Jouin Giin Daniel Inouye Jiden," translated by Yukio Morita, Sairyusha, 1989) has detailed information.
- 28.
U.S. Air Force, "Hickam C-17 Dedicated in Honor of Late Sen. Daniel Inouye," August 24, 2014, http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/494633/hickam-c-17-dedicated-in-honor-of-late-sen-daniel-inouye/ (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 29.
Numerical data current as of July 1, 2016. United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts, Hawaii," https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/HI (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 30.
Pew Research Center, "Hawaii is Home to the Nation’s Largest Share of Multiracial Americans," http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/17/hawaii-is-home-to-the-nations-largest-share-of-multiracial-americans/ (accessed on February 12, 2018).
- 31.
An interview by the author at Pacific Command Headquarters in September 2016.
- 32.
"History of United States Pacific Command," https://www.pacom.mil/About-USINDOPACOM/History/ (accessed on August 21, 2022).
- 33.
Department of Defense, "Base Structure Report-Fiscal Year 2015 Baseline, A Summary of the Real Property Inventory," https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/downloads/bsi/base%20structure%20report%20fy15.pdf (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 34.
The Kunia Field Station refers to the "Kunia Regional SIGINT Operations Center" of the National Security Agency (NSA).
- 35.
State of Hawaii, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, "2016 State of Hawaii Data Book," November 2017 update, http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/databook/db2016/ (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 36.
The total base area for the state of Hawaii specified in the 2015 Base Structure Report is 224,897 acres. Subtracting the Pacific Missile Range Facility (4,565 acres) and Barking Sands Communication Station (11 acres) in Kauai and Pohakuloa Training Area (131,805 acres), Kawaihae Military Reservation (11 acres), and Kilauea Military Land (72 acres) on the Island of Hawaii leaves 88,433 acres. In the case of the military base area in Oahu, it accounts for 23.1% of all of Oahu (the total area of Oahu is 382,490 acres). However, the 64 "other sites," which have undisclosed locations, account for 25,190 acres. In addition, if they are not located in Oahu, that percentage decreases to 16.5%. In any case, the total base area on Oahu accounts for somewhere approximately 20% of the total Oahu area.
- 37.
Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data," March 3, 2017. The document is available at < https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf > as of February 4, 2018.
- 38.
According to United States Census Bureau 2010 data, the total US land area (50 states and the capital Washington D.C.) is 3,531,905 square miles and the total land area of the state of Hawaii is 6,422.63 square miles. “Guide to State and Local Census Geography” https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/guidestloc/All_GSLCG.pdf (accessed on February 4, 2018).
- 39.
Kajiwara, ibid. p. 132. As heard by the author at Pacific Command Headquarters.
- 40.
The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii has gathered an array of data concerning the economic effect of American forces in Hawaii. Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Military Affairs Council, "The Military in Hawaii," http://www.cochawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/MACBrouchure-March-2016-.pdf (accessed on February 17, 2018). Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, "Military Affairs," http://www.cochawaii.org/military-affairs/ (accessed on February 17, 2018). Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, “Military Impact in Hawaii,” http://www.cochawaii.org/military-impact-in-hawaii/ (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 41.
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, "Chamber of Commerce Hawaii to Discuss Economic Impact of Military on Hawaii," July 9, 2014, http://www.cochawaii.org/chamber-of-commerce-hawaii-to-discuss-economic-impact-of-military-on-hawaii/ (accessed on February 11, 2018).
- 42.
James Hosek, Aviva Litovitz and Adam Resnick, “How Much Does Military Spending Add to Hawaii’s Economy?,” RAND Corporation, https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2011/RAND_TR996.pdf#search=%27rand+how+much+does+military+spending+add+to+hawaii%27 (accessed on February 11, 2018).
- 43.
Ikaika Ramones, “The True Cost of Hawai‘i’s Militarization: An Examination of the Costs and Benefits of Housing the U.S. Military Dispels the Myth that Hawai‘i Would not Survive without it,” September 11, 2014, http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/the-true-cost-of-hawaiis-militarization (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 44.
United States General Accounting Office, "Environmental Cleanup Case Studies of Six High Priority DOD Installations, "November 1994, https://www.gao.gov/assets/230/220691.pdf#search=%27environmental+clean+up+john+glenn+gao%27 (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 45.
For Hawaii's REPI program, see the following. REPI, "Overview," http://www.repi.mil/Portals/44/Documents/State_Fact_Sheets/Hawaii_StateFacts.pdf (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 46.
DMZ Hawaii, "Public Statement on Depleted Uranium," January 5, 2006, http://www.dmzhawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/dmz-statement-on-du.pdf#search=%27wahiawa+uranium%5B%27 (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 47.
Dan Nakaso, “HUD: Hawaii Still No. 1 in per capita Homeless,” December 6, 2017, http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/12/06/breaking-news/hud-hawaii-still-no-1-in-per-capita-homeless/ (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 48.
Fox News, "Homelessness in Hawaii Grows, Defying Image of Paradise," November 09, 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/08/homelessness-in-hawaii-grows-defying-image-paradise.html (accessed on February 17, 2018).
- 49.
Dan Nakaso, “Some Homeless Youth Oahu Forced into ‘Survival Sex,’ ” Star Advertiser, February 9, 2018, http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/02/09/hawaii-news/young-homeless-on-oahu-are-forced-into-survival-sex/ (accessed on April 24, 2018).
- 50.
"After 8 Years, Hawaii Sees Decline in Homelessness Rate," Jun 18, 2017, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/8-years-hawaii-sees-decline-homelessness-rate (accessed on August 21, 2022).
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Kajiwara, M. (2022). Hawaii and Pacific Command: Historical Backdrop and Civil Society of Hawaii, Home of Pacific Command Headquarters. In: Tsuchiya, M., Roy, D. (eds) U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Evidence-Based Approaches to Peace and Conflict Studies, vol 12. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5268-5_3
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