Pentagon reviews U.S. posture towards China

Indo-Pacific a priority region: report

November 30, 2021 09:27 pm | Updated 09:27 pm IST - Washington

Mara Karlin

Mara Karlin

The U.S. military will reinforce deployments and bases directed at China and Russia, while maintaining forces in the West Asia adequate to deter Iran and jihadist groups, the Pentagon said on Monday, referencing results of a review.

The U.S. Defense Department will be upgrading and expanding military facilities in Guam and Australia, underscoring its focus on China as the country’s leading defence rival, officials said.

The details of the “global posture review,” commissioned by President Joe Biden’s government early this year, would remain classified, the officials added, so as not to reveal plans to rivals.

The move comes in the wake of the formation of a new defence alliance between the U.S., Britain and Australia — dubbed AUKUS — to counter a rising China, which has been building up its own navy and testing decades of U.S. military dominance across Asia.

That pact was formed as Beijing solidifies its control over the disputed South China Sea and intensifies its military threats towards Taiwan, of which the U.S. is a key ally and arms supplier.

The review confirmed the priority region for the U.S. military was the Indo-Pacific, said Mara Karlin, a top Pentagon policy official.

The review “directs additional cooperation with allies and partners across the region to advance initiatives that contribute to deter potential military aggression from China and threats from North Korea,” she said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.