The conflict with China in the Pacific will burden the US military’s logistical capabilities to supply and maintain itself in extreme ways, according to the US Marine Corps’ second-highest-ranked officer.
“Our pacing threat is China, but our pacing challenge or pacing function is logistics,” said General Eric Smith, Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps.
“I don’t want to underestimate how difficult logistics are when moving it to the Pacific theater. The breadth and distance of the Pacific creates real, unmanageable, but real evil problems for us. “
Smith provided comments during a July 18 discussion on maritime security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
This statement was very similar to the statement made by General David Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps earlier this month.
During the war on terrorism, Burger said the corps would be “comfortable” with relatively undisputed logistics and would need to make significant improvements to prepare for potential conflicts with other major powers such as China. rice field.
“I think logistics in a competitive environment is a big challenge for us,” says Berger. “It’s not insurmountable, but we need to admit that they challenge our sustainability, as we are trying to do to them.”
To that end, Smith said the Marine Corps continues to evolve its Force Design 2030. This is a concept aimed at better integrating corps for joint operations in a Marine environment. He said the focus of the effort was to develop new technologies and create more agile power.
“China’s paced threat is constantly evolving and moving, and if you’re static, you won’t do very well,” Smith said.
“If you use yesterday’s formations, tactics, techniques, and procedures to fight today’s war with yesterday’s technology, you will die.”
China’s ever-expanding suite of drones is particularly problematic, Smith said, and the ability to deploy commercial drones as wandering munitions is shaping the United States’ way to the vast theaters of the Pacific.
“The ability of these drones to be nearly ubiquitous across the battlefield is so cheap that we need to counter it and destroy the signature,” Smith said. “If you are seen because you are radiating or being physically seen, you will be targeted almost immediately.”
Mr Smith added that he does not believe that China’s Communist Party leadership is showing signs of improving its behavior and hopes that the administration’s attacks on international norms and rules will continue.
“Senior leaders need to be aware that China’s direction remains a bad move,” Smith said.
He picked out a recent announcement of the regime not to allow the high seas between China and Taiwan as one such example of this action. International law stipulates that a country’s territorial waters end 12 nautical miles from its coastline, he said. The width of the Taiwan Strait is about 97 nautical miles.
“They are heading to a place that seeks to deny the free and open passage of trade, exercises and preparatory training, and that is not where we see the Pacific Ocean. [going]”Smith said.
“We have been defending the free and open Pacific since the end of World War II. We don’t go anywhere. We have a lot of friends in this area and quite a few friends in China. I think.”
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Andrew Thornebrooke is a reporter for The Epoch Times, which deals with China-related issues with a focus on defense, military and national security. He holds a master’s degree in military history from Norwich University.