On Oct. 26, 2020, the aircraft carrier USS Reagan (CVN 76) participated in Exercise Keen Sword 21 with frigates from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Canadian Navy. More than 9,000 people and 100 aircraft are participating in the exercise, which runs through Nov. 5.
In recent years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has gone from economic development to global military expansion under the banner of economic development, which has caused international concern, and the CPC virus (Wuhan pneumonia) pandemic has shown the world the lies and misdeeds of the CPC. From the Trump administration to the current Biden administration, the U.S. has begun to prepare for the Chinese Communist Party in various ways, including the deployment of offensive missiles, flexible small forces, and military intelligence.
Deployment of offensive missiles to improve defense system, every move of the Chinese Communist Party will have a price
Four-star General Philip S. Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, reported before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 9 on the U.S. command posture in the Indo-Pacific region. He argued that the greatest threat of the 21st century comes from the Chinese Communist Party and that the most urgent U.S. defense need is to deploy long-range missiles in Asia that can threaten the Chinese Communist Party and provide all-around protection against potential military attacks from the Chinese Communist Party.
Admiral Davidson said that as Beijing continues to add missiles and other advanced force, the balance of power in Asia is shifting toward China, while U.S. power in the region remains largely static. He said, “Because of this imbalance, risks are accumulating that could embolden China (the Chinese Communist Party), to unilaterally change the status quo before our military power has the potential to respond effectively.”
As a result, the U.S. needs to supplement its offensive missiles with a range greater than 310 miles to complete its existing missile defense system. Davidson said, “We must demonstrate that any ambitions China (the Chinese Communist Party) may harbor and any threat to Guam will come at a price.”
Admiral Davidson added that offensive capabilities are needed to “show China (the Chinese Communist Party) that what they’re trying to do is too costly and to make them doubt their own success.” He explained the role of offensive missiles in baseball terms: “If I can’t score runs, then I can’t win the game. We have to have an offensive capability, which will make potential adversaries think twice about any nefarious activity they might undertake in the area. That’s where offensive firepower comes into play.”
In addition to long-range missiles, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command wants to deploy a new Joint Fires Operations Management Network on the Pacific islands that will integrate airborne missile defense systems, a large radar for homeland defense on the island of Hawaii, and a tactical over-the-horizon radar deployed in Palau, a Pacific island nation.
A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Oct. 29, 2020. (U.S. Air Force)
Dispersing small, flexible teams and responding intelligently to Chinese missiles
In the face of the Communist Party’s rapid and comprehensive military build-up in land, sea, air, space, cyber and information, General Davidson believes that the United States also needs stronger and closer alliances, and that the Quadrilateral Group is an important step in strengthening alliances in the region.
At the same Time, the U.S. will deploy a broader range of military forces in India and the Pacific, rather than concentrating them in a few bases, to achieve the goal of protecting U.S. forces from the advanced missile capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party.
“Right now, we are adapting from a service center focused on Northeast Asia and Guam to a more integrated and decentralized joint force planning process.” General Davidson said, “This includes modifying our Indo-Pacific force formations with allies and partners to address the rapid advance of modernization by the CCP.”
This new force posture must “create the advantage of large size without a point of convergence and be achieved by deploying forward-facing joint forces across the breadth and depth of the theater, while balancing their lethality and survivability.”
The Nikkei Asian Review reports that since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military’s focus on efficiency has led to a concentration of U.S. forces at permanent bases, such as the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet stationed in Yokosuka, Japan; more than half of the 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan reside in Okinawa; and according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) 2019 report, about 11,000 military personnel and associated people live in Guam. But a large force concentrated in one place is vulnerable to precision missile strikes.
So the new planning will give the U.S. military more flexibility to respond to war. Davidson said the goal is to create a “commandable, flexible force” with “multi-domain firepower” in depth to gain advantage.
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, in the event of a conflict, the U.S. Marine Corps would deploy a large number of small forces around the “first island chain” within missile range of the Chinese Communist Party. These forces would deploy anti-ship missiles, air defense, and maritime surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to limit Beijing’s movements. In the event of a conflict, some countries may refuse to allow U.S. forces to use their facilities for fear of attack by Beijing. Therefore, the United States must regularly engage with allies and other partners to understand their awareness of the threat posed by the CCP.
An RQ-20 Puma drone is launched from an assault boat in the Arabian Gulf by the U.S. Army’s 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit assault team, May 24, 2020. (Cpl. Gary Jayne III/U.S. Marine Corps)
Influence Operations U.S. Advances Military Intelligence Support Operations
General Davidson also revealed details of the CCP’s information warfare and disinformation operations. He argued that the CCP has a massive information disinformation machine, including conventional and social media, with nearly a million people undermining U.S. interests and vying for a voice for CCP interests, as well as sowing discord among U.S. allies and partners.
Erika De La Parra Gehlen, an active-duty U.S. Navy military prosecutor and legal advisor to the Pacific Special Operations Command, and Frank L. Smith III, professor and director of the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute (CIPI), have written a joint article analyzing U.S. efforts to address the CCP’s information intelligence warfare. They argue that much of the fighting between the United States and China takes place in an information environment, and that the U.S. Navy has neglected military intelligence support operations.
In their article, the two experts point out that military intelligence support operations are not discussed in the 2013 to 2028 U.S. Navy Intelligence Superiority Roadmap, the 2020 DoD Vision for Naval Intelligence Superiority, or the 2020 to 2025 U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/10th U.S. Fleet Strategic Plan. Military intelligence support operations are missing from the development, assessment, reporting, and certification of the U.S. Navy’s mission essential missions.
They describe the purpose of military intelligence support operations as persuading foreign audiences, including adversaries, friends, and third parties. They selectively use information to influence the attitudes, opinions, and ultimately the behavior of individuals or groups. In combat, military intelligence support operations can reduce enemy combat effectiveness, reduce collateral damage, and increase support from local comrades in arms.
Military intelligence support operations had notable successes during World War II. In August 1942, Captain Ellis Zacharias established a secret psychological warfare branch within Naval Intelligence, code-named OP-16-W. His book, Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer, describes how this small group of sailors influenced the German, Italian and Japanese navies and contributed to the Allied effort. Italian and Japanese navies and brought advantages to the Allies.
Both experts therefore recommended that in order to compete in the information environment, the U.S. Navy should work with the Marine Corps and Coast Guard to improve the U.S. Navy’s ability to operate with influence. The U.S. Marine Corps began resuming its military intelligence support operations in 2009. In 2017, the U.S. Marine Corps established the Expeditionary Intelligence Group with a military intelligence support operations capability. In 2018, psychological and tactical operations have become the primary specialty for Marines to enlist in.
In September 2020, Facebook and Instagram removed more than 150 fake accounts, pages, and organizations associated with the Chinese Communist government, and they have been in practice since 2003. focused on “naval activities in the South China Sea, including U.S. Navy ships. Elsewhere, media messages have promoted the Communist Party’s so-called “nine-dash line,” and the Communist Party’s military has repeatedly claimed to have “expelled” U.S. warships.
As a result, the two experts said, the U.S. Marine Corps will help fill the gap in U.S. Navy influence operations, but it will require the U.S. Navy to become more active and play a naval role in information warfare. Because “China [the Chinese Communist Party] is not waiting for the U.S. Navy to adapt.
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