China has become more ‘aggressive and dangerous’ to US, and its allies says chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley
- General Mark Milley’s comments come ahead of an Indo-Pacific defence meeting in Australia, where key topics will be China’s escalating military
- The Biden administration considers China its ‘pacing threat’ and America’s primary long-term security challenge
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft 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.
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US military officials have said Beijing wants to be ready to make a move on the island by 2027. The US remains Taiwan’s chief ally and supplier of defence weapons. US law requires the government to treat all threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” but remains ambiguous on whether the US military would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.
“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 travelling with him. “They’re trying to expand their influence throughout the region. And that has potential consequences that are not necessarily favourable to our allies and partners in the region.”
Milley’s visit to Indonesia is the first by a US joint chiefs chairman since Admiral Mike Mullen in 2008. But US leaders have criss-crossed the Asia-Pacific in recent months, including high-profile visits by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Biden administration has been taking steps to expand its military and security relationship with Indo-Pacific nations as part of a campaign to build a stronger network of alliances in China’s backyard and counter China’s growing influence.
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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 will meet with 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 modernise our militaries collectively,” Milley said, 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.
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Earlier this year, the US approved a US$13.9 billion sale of advanced fighter jets to Indonesia. And in Jakarta last December, Blinken signed agreements for enhanced joint naval exercises between the US and Indonesia.