Next US Pacific Command head hopes for greater Japan role

April 18, 2018

Washington- US Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, the nominee for the new head of the Pacific Command, indicated Tuesday hopes for greater contributions from Japan to regional security.

"The US-Japan alliance has served as the cornerstone of peace, prosperity and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region for over 70 years," Davidson, commander of the Fleet Forces Command, told a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He has been nominated for his new post to succeed Adm. Harry Harris.

"Japan is carrying a fair share of the burden associated with the US presence in Japan," he said. "What is crucial to the alliance and the security of the Indo-Pacific is not so much that Japan increases the level of host-nation support contributions, but rather invests additional funds to increase their own services' capacity and capability in the modern threat environment."

Davidson also expressed caution against the rapid modernization of Chinese military.

"Current force structure and presence (of the Pacific Command) do not sufficiently counter the threats in the Indo-Pacific," he said, calling for increasing forward-stationed forces in Asia.

"China is no longer a rising power but an arrived great power and peer competitor to the United States in the region," he observed.

"I believe current forward-stationed naval forces do not provide sufficient support to" Pacific Command requirements, he also said. Jiji Press