Milley Sees China Becoming More Threatening in Pacific

The Chinese military has become more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, the top US military officer said during a trip to the Indo-Pacific that included a stop Sunday in Indonesia. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with US and other partner forces has increased significantly over that time, the AP reports, and that the number of unsafe interactions has risen by similar proportions. "The message is the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region," said Milley.

Milley recently asked his staff to compile details about interactions between China and the US and others in the region. The US is redoubling efforts to strengthen its relationships with Pacific nations as a counterbalance to China, which is trying to expand its presence and influence in the region. The Biden administration considers China its "pacing threat" and America's primary long-term security challenge. Milley's trip to the region is sharply focused on the China threat. He will attend a meeting of Indo-Pacific chiefs of defense this week in Australia, where key topics will be China's escalating military growth and the need to maintain a free, open and peaceful Pacific.

Indonesia is strategically critical to the region, Milley said, and has long been a key U.S. partner. He met on Sunday with Gen. Andika Perkasa, chief of the Indonesian National Defence Forces, and said Pacific nations like Indonesia want the US military involved and engaged in the region. Milley spent the afternoon at Andika's military headquarters. At the end of the visit, Andika told reporters that Indonesia has found China to be more assertive and “a little bit aggressive” with naval vessels in connection with territorial disputes with his country. China has condemned US efforts to expand its outreach in the region, accusing America of trying to build an "Asian NATO."

(More Chinese military stories.)