China ‘no-limits’ vow with Russia raises Pentagon urgency to prepare for Guam attack: US commander

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China ‘no-limits’ vow with Russia raises Pentagon urgency to prepare for Guam attack: US commander​

  • ‘Extremely dangerous’ if Beijing and Moscow were to make good on recent doubling down of partnership, says US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino
  • Admiral calls China’s advances in terms of naval ships, missile technology and nuclear capabilities ‘the largest military build-up’ since the second world war


Published: 2:40am, 25 Jun, 2022

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US Indo-Pacific Commander John C Aquilino, left, arriving at Clark Air Base in the Philippines in March. Photo: AP

The commander of US military forces in the Pacific said on Friday that Beijing’s declaration of a “no-limits” partnership with Russia has raised the Pentagon’s sense of urgency in efforts to prepare for a missile attack by Chinese military forces on Guam.

“The most concerning aspect of [Russia’s war in Ukraine] is that the People’s Republic of China has declared a no-limits policy in support of Russia and what that means to both the Indo-Pacific and the globe,” US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John C Aquilino said.

“If those two nations were to truly demonstrate and deliver a no-limits policy, I think what that means is we’re currently in an extremely dangerous time and place in the history of humanity, if that were to come true,” he said in a discussion hosted by Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.

The Chinese government strengthened its partnership with Russia to one that has “no limits” and “no forbidden areas”, three weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his country’s all-out attack on Ukraine on February 24.

Beijing has also refused to condemn Russia’s actions and has amplified some of the Kremlin’s talking points about the conflict. This has added tension to a US-China relationship that was already under strain on multiple fronts, including efforts by the administrations of US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump to bolster relations with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

Aquilino called China’s advances in terms of naval ships, missile technology and nuclear capabilities “the largest military build-up” since the second world war. He said this raises the risk that Beijing’s forces could attack Guam, an American territory in Micronesia.

“Guam has a 360-degree threat, so our ability to defend it and to be able to operate from there is absolutely critical,” he said. “I won’t have any timeline so I could see a continuous improvement and a continuous threat, and what that leads me to to do is to move with a sense of urgency.

Aquilino’s comments on the military front echoed remarks made last week by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said in a discussion hosted by the Centre for a New American Security that the lack of a forceful response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “would send a message to other would-be aggressors, including China, that they could do the same thing”.

Beijing’s stance on Russia has become one of the key issues that the two sides have sparred over in recent high-level meetings.

China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi and Sullivan held a seven-hour meeting in Rome on March 14 focused primarily on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the issue was discussed by the two again when they held a 4½ hour meeting in Luxembourg last week.

 

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China pursuing 'largest military buildup in history since WWII,' US commander says

by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter |
| June 24, 2022 01:27 PM

The commander of the U.S. combatant command responsible for the Indo-Pacific region provided an alarming assessment of China’s continued military growth.

INDOPACOM Commander Adm. John Aquilino, during a Friday conversation with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that China’s military buildup, holistically, “is the largest military buildup in history since World War II.”

The Chinese military expansion, which led the Pentagon to declare the adversarial nation as the United States's "pacing" challenge, "encompasses all domains and all capabilities, whether it's naval ships, whether it's fifth-generation aircraft, whether it's missile forces, whether it's cybercapability or capability in space, to include strategic nuclear capability. So, the concern for all Americans should be the pace, scale, and scope that China is growing."

This is not Aquilino's first warning about the Chinese Communist Party's intent to shake up the world order, writing in testimony for the House Appropriations Committee in May, "The PRC seeks to become a global military power and acquire the ability to seize Taiwan, while developing conventional weapons that can reach the U.S. Homeland."

One difference between Aquilino's two statements from May and on Friday was in nearby Ukraine, where Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin have been designated a pariah by the international community for his invasion of a sovereign nation.

“I think globally what we see is that the world is certainly unwilling to accept a single person's actions, illegitimate, unprovoked, to change the world order, the status quo, the international rules-based order through an unprovoked illicit invasion," Aquilino stated on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin promoted their countries' close ties following a meeting between them last week.

“Since the beginning of this year, Russia-China practical cooperation has developed steadily," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a readout of the call, and Xi told Putin that his country is “willing to, together with Russia, continue to support each other on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security, intensify strategic coordination between the two countries, and strengthen communication and coordination in major international and regional organizations.”

Shortly before Putin launched the invasion, the two leaders entered a "no limits partnership," as described by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a hearing on Capitol Hill in April. The agreement amounts to "the most concerning aspect" of the war.

"If those two nations were to truly demonstrate and deliver a 'No Limits policy,' I think what that means is that we're currently [in an] extremely dangerous time and place in the history of humanity, if that were to come true," Aquilino said.

 

xizhimen

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China pursuing 'largest military buildup in history since WWII,' US commander says

China is no US vassal state which US can clip her wings at will. After getting the economy developed, China of course will spend some more money on her defence, but China's overall defence budget ratio to her GDP is still much lower than US to its. This so called " largest military buildup in history" is all a load of baloney.

defence budget 2022.png
 

Mersinli

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China is no US vassal state which US can clip her wings at will. After getting the economy developed, China of course will spend some more money on her defence, but China's overall defence budget ratio to her GDP is still much lower than US to its. This so called " largest military buildup in history" is all a load of baloney.

View attachment 45358
Why post it when you dont trust it?
 

xizhimen

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Cost is still very low in China , so in military budget, nominal GDP doesn't represent the true picture, China just put in 1% of her GDP on defence, even lower than the money China spends on testing the population for covid, and China military might is already seen progressing in leaps and bounds. Think about what if China spends 3% of her GDP on military, that could amount to as much as 10% that US spends on theirs.
 

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