Recent US military drills focus on possible war with China

Stars and Stripes explained in a detailed report the Pentagon’s Air-Sea Battle concept during last week’s Valiant Shield exercise over the western Pacific Ocean.
 
The exercise with 18,000 US forces tested the concept, which is a set of tactics that blinds an enemy’s communications in space and cyberspace and destroys land- and sea-based weapons platforms, the report said.
 
It added that China is the only country in the Pacific with type of “anti-access, area-denial” capability that participants of the drills fought against.
 
“Air-Sea Battle is about China — no doubt,” Aaron Friedberg, a Princeton University professor, said. “We have exaggerated concerns about offending the Chinese. I think at some point we have to be more candid.”
 
Washington says it is concerned about Beijing’s moves after the Pentagon reported to Congress that Beijing is developing the weapons to prevent the US from safely sending its ships into the international waters of the East and South China seas.
 
The tensions between the United States and China have escalated after Beijing announced an air defense zone over the East China Sea.
 
Security analysts said the Air-Sea Battle concept is focused on defeating China if the country grows increasingly belligerent.
 
The biennial maneuvers, which began Sept. 15 and ended Sept. 23, included personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.