US commander says Iran war success crucial for deterrence in Asia
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Admiral Samuel Paparo also called the Indo-Pacific region the "defining strategic theatre of the 21st century" and urged that it remain the US military's top priority.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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The chief of the US command for the Indo-Pacific said April 21 that achieving success in the war with Iran will be “very important for deterrence” in Asia, particularly given the growing power of China.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, told senators that China should recognise the US’ “capability and will” to respond to aggression, when asked how the nearly two-month conflict might shape Beijing’s thinking.
“I don’t want them to doubt that in any way,” Adm Paparo said in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, noting that US forces usually based in the Indo-Pacific will apply the combat lessons they acquired in the Middle East to their future operations.
The commander made the remarks amid growing security concerns in parts of Asia, as the US has relocated some of its military assets from Japan and South Korea to areas near Iran.
He called the Indo-Pacific the “defining strategic theatre of the 21st century” and suggested that it remains the military’s top priority, also referring to North Korea, saying that it continues to threaten the US homeland and its allies with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Additionally, he cautioned that both China and North Korea have been deepening military cooperation with Russia.
The admiral predicted that China’s nuclear arsenal would nearly double within the next five years.
“We must overmatch that capability. We must continue to modernise the US nuclear deterrent, including tactical nuclear forces,” he said.
Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned trip to Beijing in mid-May, Adm Paparo warned about China’s technological advances, giving the example of it gaining key advantages in robotics that could be easily used as weapons.
In the face of a myriad of challenges, he said Japan is the “centrepiece” of the US network of alliances in the Indo-Pacific and praised the country for demonstrating “transformational leadership” in recent years.
Among other points, he welcomed an increase in the number of Japan’s reciprocal asset agreements with US partners, as well as Japan’s full participation in a major annual US-Philippine military exercise for the first time, which began on April 20. KYODO NEWS
