Recent statements by Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US naval forces in the Indo-Pacific region, raised concerns about China’s growing military activities around Taiwan.
During the Honolulu Defense Forum, Papa said China’s military exercises became so extensive that they could be used as a “fig leaf” to cover up a possible attack on the island.
Paparo described increasing cooperation between China, Russia and North Korea as an “emerging axis of autocracy,” referring to this alliance as a “triangle of problematic.”
He emphasized that China’s aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan are not mere exercises, but rehearsals for a possible forced unification of the island with the continent.
The increase in China’s military activities was accompanied by a growth in Russian activity in Indo-Pacific, with the launch of seven new submarines, including three nuclear submarines armed with nuclear weapons.
Paparo expressed the urgent need for the US to increase its military capacity in the region, citing the concern that the American arsenals are running out and that the margins of error are decreasing.
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“Our opponents see these gaps and are moving aggressively to explore them,” he warned.
In addition, Paparo highlighted the importance of technology, especially artificial intelligence, to improve early warning signs about possible attacks. He has requested an increase in the production of autonomous systems to be implemented in contested areas, such as Taiwan’s Strait, to create a “hell” that can deter a Chinese invasion.
However, he also emphasized that the reform of the US defense acquisition system is crucial to ensuring that technology is effectively implemented.
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Paparo also appealed for an urgent reform in the US defense bureaucracy, stating that equipment acquisition should occur “at the speed of combat, not at the speed of committees.”
