US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations is one of the reasons America is reducing its troop presence in Europe and deploying them to other places. This news comes after the China and India were involved in violent clashes earlier this month in Eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley .
This moment comes at the time, when there is threats from China to India and countries in Southeast Asia and the challenges in the South China Sea are going to dictate the allocation of defence resources. He said that China’s expansionism is “the challenge of our time” and the US wants to ensure that its resources are in place to meet it.
Asked about President Donald Trump plans announced this month to pull back 9,500 of the about 30,000 US troops stationed in five garrisons in Germany, Pompeo said that ultimately “they are aimed squarely at what we believe to be democracies’ fundamental interests, certainly America’s fundamental interests.”
He said the US began a strategic review of its force placement around the world and realising they were based on decisions made at a different time questioned whether there should be a different composition and allocation. Pompeo said, “This is going to dictate that in certain places there will be fewer American resources. There will be other places.”
The “threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” he said, “to India, threats to Vietnam threats to Malaysia, Indonesia, South China Sea challenge, the Philippines. We are going to make sure we are going to be postured appropriately to counter them, the PLA.”
“I think that’s the challenge of our time and we’re going to make sure we have resources in place to do that,” he added.
He did not provide specific details of how this would be done. Pompeo faulted Germany for not making a fair contribution to its own defence and the NATO.
