‘We must be ready to respond to China’s expansion claims’

PEARL HARBOR – With China becoming bolder in its expansionist bid, the United States and its allies should be prepared to take action if and when necessary, according to the newly appointed chief of the US forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We must be ready to answer the People’s Republic of China’s increasingly intrusive and expansionist claims in the Indo-Pacific Region,” US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a change of command ceremony here at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Friday morning (US time).

He called China’s actions in the region “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” borrowing the description from Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. who coined an acronym for it – ICAD.

Brawner was among the hundreds of military top brass and other official who witnessed Paparo officially assuming the position as the 27th commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, the oldest and largest combat command in the US military.

“My friend Gen. Brawner from the Republic of the Philippines has a phrase called ICAD and he has renamed gray zone, otherwise benign and dull, into ICAD which is illegal, coercive and deceptive,” Paparo said.

Russia, North Korea as well as violent extremist organizations, which “threaten peace, stability and order,” fall into that category, Paparo said.

Indo-Pacom, together with its partners, he said, is positioned to deny attempts to break the peace maintained by an international rules-based order.

Calling China’s actions, including its rapid buildup of forces, as troubling, Paparo said the US and its allies and partners would continue to uphold stability and order in the region.

As the new Indo-Pacom commander, Paparo said he would “work in concert with allies and partners and teammates to preserve the free and open Indo-Pacific itself.”

“We will safeguard the international order characterized by transparency, cooperation and fair competition and the rule of law,” he said.

Focused on peace, but

He promised to focus on peaceful resolution of crisis, but would not hesitate to confront threats to peace and security.

“But make no mistake, we will be ready to fight any adversary that threatens the peace, security and well-being of the nation and all our allies and partners,” he said.

Paparo succeeded Adm. John Aquilino, who is retiring after 40 years in the US Navy. Like Aquilino before him, Paparo is a Top Gun fighter pilot.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III presided over the tearful, solemn and at times funny turnover ceremony.

Austin credited Aquilino for leading Indo-Pacom during one of the most decisive times for the US military in the region.

“You’ve built up the Guam Defense System to protect the most forward US territory in the Indo-Pacific. And you’ve helped get critical capabilities into the hands of the warfighter faster. And you’ve always understood the power of partnership,” Austin said.

“It’s the reason Indo-Pacom is working with the US’s regional allies and partners like never before,” Austin said.

“In the Philippines, we’ve expanded US access to four new sites under our Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,” he added.

“Unfortunately, the People’s Republic of China continues to engage in increasingly coercive behavior. And we can see that across the Taiwan Strait, in the East and South China Seas, among the Pacific Island countries, along the Line of Actual Control with India, and more,” the US defense chief said.

Aquilino, for his part, said he is looking forward to his retirement and noted that he would be able to “sleep soundly knowing that Paparo is at the controls.”

Prior to the change of command ceremony, Austin met with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as well as with his counterparts from Australia and Japan for the Australia-Japan-Philippines-United States Defense Ministers’ Meeting held in Hawaii.

“The ministers and secretaries expressed serious concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas. They strongly objected to the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea,” according to a joint readout following the meeting.