WASHINGTON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – During a visit to the Indo-Pacific, including a stop in Indonesia, the top military official of the United States stated that the Chinese military has grown substantially more dangerous and aggressive over the previous five years.
The number of intercepts by China’s ships and aircraft in the Pacific region with US and other partner forces has risen considerably over that time, and the number of unsafe interactions has increased by comparable proportions, said Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, on Sunday.
Milley, who in recent time asked his staff to compile information about interactions between China and other countries in the region along with the US, said that the message was that “the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region.”
His remarks came as Indonesian President Joko Widodo was getting ready to leave on a two-day visit to Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Miller was on his way to a meeting with defence leaders of Indonesia in Jakarta at the time. Aside from the Winter Olympics in February, this will be Beijing’s first private reception for a foreign leader in two years.
The threat posed by China is the main focus of Milley’s visit to the area. The need to maintain an open, free and peaceful Pacific and China’s rising military development will be major subjects of discussion at an Indo-Pacific defence chiefs meeting that he will attend this coming week in Australia.
Alarms have also been raised by US military authorities regarding the potential for a 2027 Chinese invasion of Taiwan. To intimidate the island which is self-ruled into joining the communist mainland, China has escalated its military provocations against it.
According to Milley, who was travelling with reporters, that was an area in which China was attempting to do outreach for its own goals – and again, that was troubling because China was not just doing it for benign reasons. They were attempting to increase their power in the area. And that might have ramifications for the US’ regional allies and partners that weren’t necessarily favourable.
In an effort to fortify the network of allies in China’s backyard and combat China’s expanding influence, Biden’s government has been taking steps to deepen its military and security ties with Indo-Pacific countries.
Milley, who was in a meeting with Indonesia’s military chief Gen. Andika Perkasa on Sunday, stated that the Pacific countries like Indonesia wanted the US military to be active and engaged in the area.
To make sure they could face whatever challenge that China posed,” Milley added, they wanted to engage with them to establish interoperability and modernise their military cooperatively.
He further added that Indonesia was a significant US ally and was strategically vital to the area.
A giant billboard with Milley’s name and photo, a military parade, and a sizable television screen playing a movie commemorating his career were all there to welcome him when he spent the afternoon at Indonesia’s military headquarters in Jakarta.
Andika told reporters after the trip that China had come across as more forceful and “a little bit aggressive” with naval boats in relation to territorial disputes with his nation.
