China more dangerous to US, allies: General
JAKARTA:THE Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, the top US military officer said during a trip to the Indo-pacific that included a stop on Sunday in Indonesia.
US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the number of intercepts by Chinese aircrat and ships in the Pacific region with US and other partner forces has increased significantly over that time, and the number of unsafe interactions has risen by similar proportions.
“The message is the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region,” said Milley, who recently asked his staff to compile details about interactions between China and the US and others in the region.
Milley’s trip to the region is sharply focused on the China threat.
He will atend a meeting of Indo-pacific chiefs of defense this coming week in Australia, where key topics will be China’s escalating military growth and the need to maintain a free, open and peaceful Pacific.
The US and Australia have told the Solomon Islands that hosting a Chinese military base would not be tolerated.
“This is an area in which China is trying to do outreach for their own purposes. And again, this is concerning because China is not doing it just for benign reasons,” Milley told reporters traveling with him.
“They’re trying to expand their influence throughout the region. And that has potential consequences that are not necessarily favorable to our allies and partners in the region.”
Milley declined to provide specific numbers of unsafe Chinese interactions with US and allied aircrat and ships.
Milley said there have been Chinese intercepts with Japan, Canada, Australia, Philippines and Vietnam. They all, he said, have seen a “statistically significant” increase in intercepts, and the number of unsafe incidents has increased by an “equal proportion.”
Milley, who met on Sunday General Andika Perkasa, chief of the Indonesian National Defence Forces, said Pacific nations like Indonesia want the US military involved and engaged in the region.
“We want to work with them to develop interoperability and modernize our militaries collectively,” Milley said, in order to ensure they can “meet whatever challenge that China poses.”
He said Indonesia is strategically critical to the region, and has long been a key US partner.
At the end of the visit, Andika told reporters that Indonesia has found China to be more assertive and “a litle bit aggressive” with naval vessels in connection with terrirotiral disputes with his country.