US must be ready to answer China's expansionist claims —INDOPACOM

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Newly installed United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said the US military stands ready to defend the region against threats to its peace and stability amid China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

“Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China and its rapid build-up of forces,” Paparo said in his remarks following the INDOPACOM Change of Command at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Saturday morning (Manila time).

“We must be ready to answer PRC’s increasingly intrusive and expansionist claims in the Indo-Pacific Region,” the new INDOPACOM chief said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

A portion of the South China Sea within the Philippine exclusive economic zone has been renamed the West Philippine Sea.

In recent months, the tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated as both sides traded accusations over a series of incidents in the disputed waters.

“Some call it the ‘grey zone’,” Paparo said, referring to China’s military and non-military coercive tactics in the disputed maritime territories.

The new INDOPACOM chief also cited Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.’s description of China’s grey zone tactics.

“My friend General Brawner from the Republic of the Philippines has a phrase called ICAD and he has renamed grey zone… into ICAD which is Illegal, Coercive, and Deceptive. This demonstrates the wisdom of our allies and partners,” Paparo said.

The INDOPACOM chief said the US combatant command “is positioned to deny and defend against attempts to break the peace accorded by international rules-based order.”

“We’ll confidently action all challenges that threaten the goals required to achieve mission success,” Paparo said.

He said the command will work with allies and partners to preserve the free and open Indo-Pacific.

“We will safeguard the international order characterized by transparency, cooperation, and fair competition and the rule of law,” Paparo said.

“We will strive for the peaceful resolution of any crisis, but make no mistake we will be ready to fight any adversary that threatens the peace, security and well-being of the nation and all our allies and partners,” he said. —KG, GMA Integrated News