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 The effort centers on a first-of-its-kind conference between the
Marine Corps and military officials from 23 countries that opens in
Hawaii on Monday. More than half the nations attending are from
Asia, including some embroiled in territorial disputes with China
such as Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
On the agenda will be amphibious assault tactics, including
ship-to-shore assaults, and a demonstration of shore landing
tactics, said a USMC spokesman in Hawaii.
A planning document prepared by a consultant to the U.S. military
and reviewed by Reuters notes that China should "not be invited"
because it's a "competitor" to the United States and some of the
countries attending.
Washington has grown increasingly critical of China's assertiveness
in the disputed South China Sea, especially its land reclamation
around seven reefs in the Spratly chain. Satellite images show at
least one airstrip under construction.
A U.S. official said on Tuesday that the Pentagon was considering
sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of
navigation around the reefs.
 Asked about China's exclusion, the Marine spokesman said U.S. law
prohibited military-to-military exchanges with China at such events.
U.S. defense officials added that it was not unusual to exclude
Chinese military personnel from participating in some training
hosted by U.S. forces.
China took part in U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval
exercises last year with more than 20 countries, but one defense
official noted its participation was limited to things like
humanitarian relief and search and rescue operations.
China's Defence Ministry had no immediate comment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that any
country had the right to invite who it wanted to a meeting or event,
as long as it was beneficial for maintaining regional peace and
stability.
"The militaries of China and the United States have normal exchanges
and cooperation on various levels," Hua told a daily news briefing.
BEACH LANDINGS
Amphibious forces specialize in launching maritime operations
including beach landings from boats and helicopters and are often
used to deliver and coordinate aid following natural disasters. The
vast island-dotted and disaster-prone geography of Asia lends itself
to such operations.
A key goal of the Hawaii meeting would be to lay the groundwork for
multilateral amphibious exercises, including drills between
participant nations, even without U.S. involvement, the planning
document said.
On Tuesday, the visiting military officials will observe a U.S.
Marine exercise involving helicopter carriers, landing ships and
other vessels that will create an offshore sea base that could be
used in combat or to coordinate disaster relief.
Brigadier Richard Spencer, deputy commander of the British Royal
Marines, who will attend the conference, said it would be a success
if it paved the way for participating nations to run joint disaster
relief efforts using marine forces.
"My inclination would be to start with a relatively realistic level
of ambition ... I would rather set a low bar and achieve it,"
Spencer told Reuters on the sidelines of a defense conference in the
Japanese city of Yokohama.
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The U.S. Marines were the "logical integrator" for amphibious
capabilities in Asia, which would interest allies like Japan, South
Korea and Australia, said Michael Green, senior vice president at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"(It would) also be helpful to other partners dealing with
vulnerabilities from natural disasters to encroachment and coercion
by large maritime claimants," he said.
China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway.
China last month defended its Spratlys reclamation, saying the new
islands would provide civilian services such as search and rescue
facilities.
Beijing is also at loggerheads with Japan over uninhabited isles in
the East China Sea.
HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS?
U.S. military planners are concerned that bilateral exercises
between American forces and friendly nations around Asia have done
little more than show off the U.S. Marines.
In such drills the Marines are like the Harlem Globetrotters, the
basketball entertainers who outmatch their hapless opponents, said
the consultant to the U.S. military, who declined to be identified
because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
With some 80,000 personnel or almost half its strength in Asia, the
U.S. Marines are the biggest amphibious force in the region. Most
are based on Japan's Okinawa island on the edge of the East China
Sea.
With around 12,000 marines, China is a formidable potential foe, say
military experts.
Countries in dispute with China over territory in the South China
Sea don't have large amphibious forces.
Two late entrants to amphibious warfare training are close U.S.
allies: Australia and Japan.
Australia last year launched the Canberra, the first of two planned
amphibious ships, each able to land 1,000 troops. Japan, which under
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pursuing a more muscular defense
policy, is training its first marines since World War Two.
Melding an integrated amphibious force in Asia able to divide tasks
between nations and operate seamlessly would take time, said Ben
Schreer, senior defense strategy analyst at the Australian Strategic
Policy Institute.
"The challenges are military complexity, capability standards,
limited funding, competing priorities and, in some cases,
overlapping claims in the South China Sea," he said.
(Additional reporting by David Alexander and Phil Stewart in
WASHINGTON, and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Dean Yates)
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