Change of government represents “Wale” of a chance to assert influence and blunt China’s advances in strategic Pacific nation Admiral Samuel Paparo commands USINDOPACOM, home to over 300,000 sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines in an area of operations extending from the US west coast to India. Paparo also has the clearest sense of the Chinese threat of any USINDOPACOM commander since Admiral Robert Willard, who was in charge from 2009-2012. Yet, in some Pacific Island nations, he has less influence than the head of any Chinese-owned timber, fishing, mining or construction company. How so? Paparo or another senior officer might show up for a day or two each year, if that, and meet with top officials, declaring their excellent…Open
FEMA needs to do its job well – but especially carefully, since the commonwealth is a place where money can disappear One hears a lot recently that the United States lacks the wherewithal or the bandwidth to protect its allies, partners and interests in the Asia-Pacific owing to demands of the Iran War. This is said within the context of America deterring or defeating potential Chinese aggression. It’s not just timorous American allies who wonder. US citizens in the US territory of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are wondering as well. Super Typhoon Sinlaku plowed through CNMI and its main islands, Saipan, Tinian and Rota last week, causing widespread destruction. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management…Open
Military experts are calling for a DPRI update to strengthen United States-Japan defenses amid a deteriorating regional security landscape. A United States Marine officer did what Marine officers are supposed to do the other day. He opened a can of worms. Lt Colonel Caleb Eames, a fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, and his colleague wrote an article proposing a halt to the relocation of 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam. The move was agreed to in 2006 during the US-Japan Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI). It calls for moving 9,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, and the US mainland, while 10,000 Marines would remain on Okinawa. There’s an instinctive logic to not moving Marines to Guam. For one thing,…Open