John Aquilino (center), then commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and current commander of Indo-Pacific Command, arrives at a special screening of the film “Battle of Midway” at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Oct. 20, 2019.
John Aquilino, the new commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, pledged last Friday (April 30) to maintain a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region. He noted that the U.S. needs to provide the necessary deterrence to prevent great power conflict as the Chinese Communist Party attempts to become increasingly dominant in the region.
Last Friday, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) held a change of command ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where Adm. Philip Davidson handed over command to the new commander, Adm. Aquilino.
The Indo-Pacific region is a priority theater for the U.S. Department of Defense to maintain U.S. national security. In his speech that day, Davidson noted the ongoing challenges in the region.
Davidson made direct reference to the Chinese Communist Party and warned that it has ambitions to expand its influence in the region and is authoritarian.
“It is absolutely certain that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to replace the free and open international order with a new order, an order with Chinese characteristics, an order in which the power of the Chinese Communist state is more important than international law.” Davidson said.
Davidson also noted that the strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region is not between two countries, but between freedom and authoritarianism. The United States has been willing to stand up for freedom to defend it.
Aquilino also endorsed the critical role of U.S. Pacific Command in providing regional peace and security, while emphasizing that he will continue to focus on working with allies and partners to address common security issues.
Aquilino also mentioned that the environment the U.S. and its allies have created for decades “is being challenged” and that deterrence is necessary to prevent great power conflict in the face of growing Chinese Communist expansion.
“We are committed to strengthening our relationships with our allies and partners around the globe,” Aquilino said, “and we are determined to provide the deterrence needed to prevent great power conflict, and once it is triggered, we are determined to be able to fight and win tonight.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who presided over the ceremony, praised Davidson for his outstanding performance and tremendous contributions. He also emphasized that today’s rapidly changing environment will require new thinking and action by the U.S. Department of Defense to build an integrated deterrent in all areas of potential conflict.
Throughout U.S. history, deterrence has meant keeping a fundamental truth in the minds of our potential enemies, a truth that the costs and risks of aggression outweigh any desired benefits,” Austin said. To make that clear today, we will use existing capabilities and build new ones, and use all of them in a networked way with our allies and partners.”
Austin also addressed the many other challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and expressed great confidence in Aquilino’s leadership.
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