The Pentagon revealed that it is working on fortifying and increasing its military power in various international regions, including Guam and Australia, to better prepare the United States army in fighting back against China's potential aggression.
The decision comes after United States President Joe Biden ordered Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to undertake shortly after taking office in February. This followed the Department of Defense to conduct a global posture review that lasted for nearly a year.
Global Posture Review
Austin started the global posture review in March and while it was labeled as classified, a senior defense official revealed some details regarding the findings of the review. Recently, Biden allegedly approved Austin's findings and recommendations from the global posture review. Dr. Mara Karlin, who is performing the duties of deputy undersecretary for policy, was the one who made the announcement during a briefing on Monday.
Karlin said that the United States focused greatly on the Indo-Pacific region, primarily because of Austin's emphasis on "China as the pacing challenge." In recent months, the American federal government has made countering Beijing its primary focus when it comes to foreign policy priority due to rising tensions over various international issues, CNN reported.
The global posture review "directs additional cooperation with allies and partners who advance initiatives that contribute to regional stability and deter Chinese military aggression." The program also includes "enhancing infrastructure in Guam and in Australia."
The projects that are included in the global posture review will begin next year and will result in airfields supporting the Defense Department in responding quickly by sending troops in and out of the region for drills, deployments, or possible conflicts.
Additionally, the review does not aim to significantly reshuffle military forces to confront Beijing or tackle other challenges. This includes an aggressive Russia and rising terrorism threats in the Middle East and Africa, The Hill reported.
In September, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. government formed a new partnership with Australia and Britain to deepen their cooperative efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement followed private deliberations among the three partner nations where Australia dumped a contract with France regarding nuclear submarines.
Military Powers
One defense official said that the Biden administration will discuss ways to figure out troop numbers that should be deployed for East Africa, especially after former United States President Donald Trump's orders to pull out troops from the region last year. The situation has become even more important after Ethiopia began to enter a civil war and the Islamic extremist group, Al Shabab, increases the frequency of its attacks in Somalia.
Biden's administration also promised France that the American government will support the counterterrorism efforts in West Africa. This includes deploying additional reconnaissance planes and drones to a $110 million airfield that the U.S. government built near Agadez, Niger.
Karlin warned of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "worrisome behavior" and expressed "profound concern with what appear to be some really unhelpful movements in the European theater," referencing Russian military forces moving toward Ukraine's border, the New York Times reported.
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