UNITED States — The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says China’s military buildup in the South China Sea is intended to dissuade America’s Navy from operating in the region.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford,
“It is very clear to me that those capabilities that are being developed are intended to limit our ability to move into the Pacific or to operate freely within the Pacific and we call that ‘anti-access / area denial’ capability,”
Dunford said the u.s. is meeting china’s challenge by deploying its most advanced military equipment to the pacific.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford,
“We are fielding the most modern capabilities in the Department to the Pacific, first: things like the F-35, the F-22 and so forth, and other capabilities, are going to the Pacific first,”
For his part, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who was testifying with Dunford, said the U.S. intends to maintain its posture as a naval power in the Pacific
“We’re not out to keep China down but we don’t look for anybody to dominate the region and certainly not for anybody to push the United States out. We are a Pacific power. We are there to stay.” (Eagle News Service)
