China’s military has become much more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, the top US military officer said on an Indo-Pacific trip that included a stopover in Indonesia.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday that the number of interceptions by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with US forces and other partners had increased significantly over the past of this period, and the number of dangerous interactions has increased. in similar proportions.
“The message is that the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, has become much more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region,” said Milley, who recently asked his staff to compile details of the interactions between China and the United States and others in the region.
His comments, made en route to a meeting with Indonesian defense chiefs in Jakarta, came as Indonesian President Joko Widodo prepared to travel to Beijing for a two-day visit on Monday where he will meet the Chinese president. , Xi Jinping. It will be the first time in two years that a foreign leader will be received individually by Beijing outside the Winter Olympics in February.
Milley’s trip to the region is heavily focused on the Chinese threat. He will attend a meeting of Indo-Pacific defense chiefs next week in Australia, where the main topics will be China’s growing military growth and the need to maintain a free, open and peaceful Pacific.
US military officials have also sounded the alarm over the possibility that China could invade Taiwan – possibly by 2027. China has stepped up military provocations against the self-governing island as it seeks to intimidate it to unite with the communist continent.
The United States and others also fear that a recent security deal Beijing signed in April with the Solomon Islands could lead to the establishment of a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific. The United States and Australia have told the Solomon Islands that hosting a Chinese military base will not be tolerated.
“This is an area where China is trying to raise awareness for its own ends – and again, it’s concerning because China isn’t just doing this for benign reasons,” Milley told reporters. traveling with him. “They are trying to extend their influence throughout the region. And that has potential consequences that are not necessarily favorable to our allies and partners in the region.
The Biden administration has taken steps to expand military and security relations with Indo-Pacific countries as part of a campaign to build a stronger web of alliances in the backyard of the China and to counter China’s growing influence.
Milley, who met with Indonesian army chief General Andika Perkasa on Sunday, said Pacific nations like Indonesia wanted the US military involved and engaged in the region.
“We want to work with them to develop interoperability and collectively modernize our militaries,” Milley said, to ensure they could “address any challenges China poses.”
He said Indonesia was strategically critical to the region and had long been a key partner of the United States.
Milley, who spent the afternoon at the Indonesian army headquarters in Jakarta, was greeted by a huge billboard bearing his picture and name, a military parade and a large television screen showing a video of her career.
At the end of the visit, Andika told reporters that Indonesia had found China to be more authoritarian and “a bit aggressive” with warships over territorial disputes with his country.