Berger: U.S. Should Restructure Indo-Pacific Force Posture
By: Mallory Shelbourne
September 24, 2020 10:48 AM • Updated: September 25, 2020 11:59 AM
The Marine Corps needs to spread out its forces in the Indo-Pacific region if it wants to be successful in deterring Chinese aggression in the coming decades, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said during an appearance at the virtual Modern Day Marine conference on Wednesday.
The commandant noted that Marines mostly operate from the Korean peninsula and Japan, and have been for decades, but that the future environment requires the U.S. to change course.
“We have to spread out. We have to factor in Guam. We have to have a dispersed, distributed force laydown in the Pacific that allows us to work with all the allies and partners in the region and deter countries like [China] from asserting themselves in a manner that tries to rewrite all of the global sort of norms that’s been well-established for 50, 60, 70 years and which has led to all the economic growth in the Indo-Pacific,†Berger said. “So our posture must change, both the Marine Corps’ and I think the joint force as well.â€
https://news.usni.org/2020/09/24/berger-u-s-should-restructure-indo-pacific-force-posture
