US Troop Levels in Pacific Take Center Stage as Defense Secretary Huddles with Allied Defense Leaders
Military.com | By Konstantin Toropin
Published May 03, 2024 at 12:30 pm
HONOLULU -- Amid a gathering of top defense leaders from across the Pacific in Hawaii, Pentagon officials said Thursday that the U.S. not only needs to grow its ties in the region but also bolster the number of troops there to deter China.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while standing alongside his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines, said that the four leaders "discussed how we can deepen our trilateral cooperation to strengthen stability and security."
However, one military official also said that the U.S. needs "an improved force posture and it needs to be west of the International Date Line ... so that we can have a lethal and combat credible force" closer to China, Russia and North Korea.
Austin's day of meetings with his counterparts in the region comes as China continues to expand its campaign of harassing and threatening nearby countries and their ships in the South China Sea.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/05/03/how-put-more-us-troops-pacific-key-question-austin-meets-defense-leaders.html
