Hicks: Chinese Military Expansion Poses Threats to Guam, Hawaii
The United States has “real reasons for concern” over China’s expanding size and range of its military capabilities close to Japan that also pose threats to Guam and Hawaii, as well as Australia, the deputy secretary of defense said Friday.
Kathleen Hicks said President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric is making “clear their intentions” to be a global military power.
Speaking in a Center for Strategic and International Studies online forum, she said the growth of Chinese military capabilities is “the mark on the wall” for the Pentagon when it identified Beijing as a “pacing competitor.”
Hicks added that “doesn’t mean we’re doing an arms race” on a specific capability. She said the United States’ intentions, along with that of its partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific, is “to reduce tensions” and deter Beijing’s bullying and possible aggressive actions.
When asked specifically about Taiwan, Hicks said the escalating tensions across the strait is “something we watch very closely.”
Read more: https://news.usni.org/2021/10/04/hicks-chinese-military-expansion-poses-threats-to-guam-hawaii