The United States is shifting more military muscle, including another aircraft carrier, to the Pacific to protect the status quo in a region facing China's growing clout, the Pentagon's second-ranking official said on Thursday.
In coming years, 60 percent of US Navy ships will be in the Pacific, up from 52 percent now, including a net increase of one carrier to six, Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told an industry conference hosted by Credit Suisse and McAleese and Associates, a consultancy.
The US Army and Marine Corps are also working on stepped-up rotations, "so they'll be seeing more of the US Army in the Asia Pacific region not less," Carter said. Elaborating on military priorities that President Barack Obama announced in January, Carter said US forces had played a crucial role in preventing conflict in the Pacific region for roughly the last 60 years.
"We don't want that to change. We want to continue to have that role and that's really what our investments are aimed at," Carter said when asked whether the goal was to pre-empt, deter or hedge against China. Navy Secretary Raymond Mabus, speaking to the conference after Carter, said the Navy planned to achieve the build-up using new ships as they roll out of shipyards.
Beijing in recent years has asserted territorial claims in the South China Sea and East China Sea more aggressively. In response, the United States is laying the groundwork for a more widely distributed footprint in Asia through strengthened alliances and partnerships, including with Australia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Carter cited a range of upgrades and new programs that he said were directed to the region, including radar sets, antisubmarine warfare improvements and development of a new long-range, nuclear-capable bomber. The programs were largely outlined in a five-year spending request that Obama sent to Congress last month.
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