Commander of U.S. Army Pacific Command: “We need to show China more military power to deter war”

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) published on the 18th (local time), U.S. Pacific Army Commander Ronald Clark said, "While I am in command here, I want to demonstrate sufficient military capabilities and readiness to deter war."

The U.S. Pacific Command has recently been expanding its role by temporarily deploying weapons to regional countries such as the Philippines and Japan. These regions are places that could play a key role in the event of a conflict with China over the Taiwan issue.

Commander Clark then emphasized the need for the United States to publicly demonstrate its sophisticated military capabilities.

As a representative example, he cited the latest medium-range missile system 'Typhon', which has a range of range over parts of China. The U.S. military deployed Typhon for the first time in Asia to the Philippines in 2024, and it was also deployed to Japan for joint training.

Commander Clark explained that the U.S. Army is operating the HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System) as a way to demonstrate joint military capabilities with allies to China.

He introduced that earlier this year, the U.S. Army moved long-range precision weapons from the United States to the Philippines and brought ammunition from Korea to conduct live-fire training.

At the same time, he emphasized that it is important for deterrence that the U.S. military intentionally discloses such movements so that potential adversaries can directly see the U.S. military capabilities.

“It shows that we can actually operate a weapons system and use it on a large scale at a time and place of our choosing,” said Clark.

The United States is also seeking to restore military cooperation with Cambodia, which has had close ties with the Chinese military.

The United States and Cambodia plan to resume joint training for the first time in about 10 years in February next year.

However, some allies are concerned about a backlash from China and are feeling burdened by the permanent deployment of U.S. weapons.

Commander Clark explained that in consideration of these limitations, the U.S. military is dispersing joint training throughout the year and focusing on times when the risk is deemed high.

Even if weapons are not permanently deployed, deterrence can be maintained and a rapid response can be made in the event of an actual conflict.

Commander Clark emphasized that the U.S. Army is more deeply involved in the Pacific region than ever before, deploying additional divisions, corps-level commands, and multi-domain units.

“Never in my military career have I seen the Army commit this level of resources and capabilities to the Pacific,” he said.