Milley: China more aggressive, more dangerous for US, allies, #Milley #China #aggressive #dangerous #allies Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous in the past five years, the top US officer said during a trip to the Indo-Pacific, including a Sunday stop in Indonesia.
Gene. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the number of interceptions by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific with US and other partner forces has increased significantly during that time, and the number of unsafe interactions is of similar proportions.
“The message is that the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, has become significantly more aggressive and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region,” said Milley, who recently asked his staff to gather details on interactions between China and the US and others. in the region.
His comments came as the US redoubled its efforts to strengthen its relations with countries in the Pacific to counterbalance China, which is trying to expand its presence and influence in the region. The Biden administration views China as its “pace threat” and America’s most important long-term security challenge.
Milley’s trip to the region focuses heavily on the threat from China. He will attend a meeting of Indo-Pacific defense chiefs in Sydney, Australia this week, where key topics will include China’s escalating military growth and the need to maintain a free, open and peaceful Pacific Ocean. .
US military officials have also raised the alarm about the possibility of China invading Taiwan, the democratic, self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province. China has stepped up its military provocations against Taiwan as it seeks to intimidate the country into uniting with the communist mainland.
US military officials have said Beijing wants to be ready to take a step on the island by 2027. The US remains Taiwan’s main ally and supplier of defense weapons. US law requires the government to treat all threats to the island as matters of “serious concern,” but it remains unclear whether the US military would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.
China’s top military officer, General Li Zuocheng, told Milley in a July 7 appeal that Beijing had “no room for compromise” on issues like Taiwan. He told Milley that the US must “end US-Taiwan military collusion and avoid affecting China-US relations and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
The US and others are also concerned that a recent security agreement Beijing signed in April with the Solomon Islands could lead to the establishment of a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific. The US and Australia have told the Solomon Islands that hosting a Chinese military base would not be tolerated.
“This is an area where China is trying to outreach for its own purposes. And again, this is worrying because China isn’t just doing it for benign reasons,” Milley told reporters who traveled with him. “They are trying to expand their influence across the region. And that has potential consequences that are not necessarily beneficial to our allies and partners in the region.”
Milley’s visit to Indonesia is the first by a US joint chairman since Admiral Mike Mullen in 2008. But US leaders have criss-crossed the Asia-Pacific in recent months, including high-profile visits from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Biden administration has taken steps to expand its military and security relationship with Indo-Pacific countries as part of a campaign to build a stronger network of alliances in China’s backyard and counter China’s growing influence. to go.
Milley declined to provide specific numbers of unsafe Chinese interactions with US and Allied aircraft and ships. But Austin referred in a speech in Singapore last month to an “alarming increase” in unsafe interceptions by People’s Liberation Army planes and ships.
Austin specifically pointed to an incident in February where a PLA Navy vessel aimed a laser at an Australian P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. But there have been several more. A Canadian-piloted surveillance plane was recently intercepted in international airspace by a Chinese fighter jet. And US ships are routinely chased by Chinese planes and ships during transits, particularly around artificial islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.
Milley said there have been Chinese interceptions with Japan, Canada, Australia, the Philippines and Vietnam. They have all seen a “statistically significant” increase in interceptions, he said, and the number of unsafe incidents has increased at an “equal proportion.”
Milley, who will meet with General Andika Perkasa, head of Indonesia’s National Armed Forces, said Pacific countries such as Indonesia want the US military to be involved in the region.
“We want to work with them to develop interoperability and collectively modernize our militaries,” Milley said, to ensure they can “meet any challenge China poses.”
He said Indonesia is of strategic importance to the region and has been an important partner of the US for a long time.
Earlier this year, the US approved a $13.9 billion sale of advanced fighter jets to Indonesia. And last December, Blinken signed agreements in Jakarta for enhanced joint naval exercises between the US and Indonesia.
China has condemned US efforts to expand its reach in the region, accusing America of trying to build an “Asian NATO.” During a speech in Singapore, Austin rejected that claim. “We are not aiming for a new Cold War, an Asian NATO or a region divided into hostile blocs,” he said.