'We must be ready to respond to China's expansion claims'

PEARL HARBOR – With China becoming bolder in its expansionist bid, the United States and its allies should be prepared to take action if and when necessary, according to the newly appointed chief of the US forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

- IRIS GONZALES

“We must be ready to answer the People’s Republic of China’s increasingly intrusive and expansionist claims in the Indo-Pacific Region,” US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a change of command ceremony here at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Friday morning (US time).

He called China’s actions in the region “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” borrowing the description from Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. who coined an acronym for it – ICAD.

Brawner was among the hundreds of military top brass and other official who witnessed Paparo officially assuming the position as the 27th commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, the oldest and largest combat command in the US military.

“My friend Gen. Brawner from the Republic of the Philippines has a phrase called ICAD and he has renamed gray zone, otherwise benign and dull, into ICAD which is illegal, coercive and deceptive,” Paparo said.

Russia, North Korea as well as violent extremist organizations, which “threaten peace, stability and order,” fall into that category, Paparo said.