By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2149069/6-brewing-conflict-indo-pacific/
The standoff between Tehran and Washington – after US killing of Iranian General and Tehran’s retaliatory action of firing a torrent of missiles on American military bases in Iraq – hasn’t unequivocally thawed and Washington is vying to drive itself into another potential conflict with China and Russia.
In a latest pestering move, US Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that the Pentagon for the first time would deploy its Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) in the Indo-Pacific to “neutralize all the investments China and Russia have made”.
Deployment of multi-domain task forces – with a focus on the realms of intelligence, information, cyber, electronic warfare and space battalion (I2CEWS) – will be carried out within next two fiscal years and would aim to bolster alliances with regional partners.
US military has long-sought to send the SFABs to Africa and East Asia but until now; the advise-and-assist units have only been placed in Afghanistan where it have seriously struggled to find enough experienced troops to do the job and botched to develop the combat capabilities of Afghan forces.
It is thus pretty skeptical how American specialized crews would evolve a new paradigm to “punch a hole” in the enemy defenses or would be able to ensure its “ironclad and enduring commitment” to the region and strengthen or even persuade US allies to confront formidable Chinese and Russian militaries.
Though Secretary contended China was “militarizing the global commons” through the Straight of Malacca to justify American military presence in Pacific – he discounted the verity that US permanent military and civilian personnel deployments overseas had exceeded 228,000 as of September 30.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday lashed at the US concept of “free and open Indo-Pacific (FIOP) Region” and dubbed the provocative actions “destructive” which goals to divide the regional countries into “interest groups.”
Pacific is US Department of Defense’s priority-theater where it pledges to extend its commitment of regional stability and prosperity through “pursuit of preparedness, partnerships, and the promotion of a networked region” and in enactment of its phantasm, US has even shown willingness to budge its troops from Afghanistan to Pacific.
Immediately after it revived peace talks with Afghan Taliban, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper in December said he wants to reduce US military presence in Afghanistan “with or without (peace) deal” to pay greater concentration on the strategic competition with China.
Fear of turbulence in Afghanistan was the reason why just hours before strikes, Secretary Mike Pompeo hammered Tehran for its indisposition to join Afghan peace process and accused it for maintaining a relationship with Taliban and other militant factions as well as operating proxy networks in Afghanistan.
So while China, Russia and Pakistan were exerting deep efforts to decode a political solution in Afghanistan to end the US impasse in cemetery of superpowers, Washington was conspiring to relocate its troops from Kabul to the Indo-Pacific to seek a face-off vis-à-vis Beijing and Moscow.
US sees partnership with India a vital gadget to its Indo-Pacific vision. Though Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared up in June 2018 during Shangri-La Dialogue that New Delhi does not see Indo-Pacific region as a strategy or “Quad”, an alliance comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US, a threat to China – the relocation of US troops from Afghanistan to the Indo-Pacific peddled Washington has aligned New Delhi to alter its strategy.
Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar’s remarks last month about “open and free” Indo-Pacific described a changed New Delhi stance in region. Indo-US wired strategic partnership is fated to elicit tensions for China, after Washington would alienate Islamabad having withdrawn from Kabul. The US in return is likely to aid India to encircle Pakistan.
Even as, Islamabad could seek profounder assurances from Washington that it won’t echo history of ditching Pakistan once its objectives are met in Afghanistan – China and Pakistan would be closely monitoring the evolving developments and ratchet up military and strategic engagements to protect each other’s interests.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2149069/6-brewing-conflict-indo-pacific/
The standoff between Tehran and Washington – after US killing of Iranian General and Tehran’s retaliatory action of firing a torrent of missiles on American military bases in Iraq – hasn’t unequivocally thawed and Washington is vying to drive itself into another potential conflict with China and Russia.
In a latest pestering move, US Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that the Pentagon for the first time would deploy its Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) in the Indo-Pacific to “neutralize all the investments China and Russia have made”.
Deployment of multi-domain task forces – with a focus on the realms of intelligence, information, cyber, electronic warfare and space battalion (I2CEWS) – will be carried out within next two fiscal years and would aim to bolster alliances with regional partners.
US military has long-sought to send the SFABs to Africa and East Asia but until now; the advise-and-assist units have only been placed in Afghanistan where it have seriously struggled to find enough experienced troops to do the job and botched to develop the combat capabilities of Afghan forces.
It is thus pretty skeptical how American specialized crews would evolve a new paradigm to “punch a hole” in the enemy defenses or would be able to ensure its “ironclad and enduring commitment” to the region and strengthen or even persuade US allies to confront formidable Chinese and Russian militaries.
Though Secretary contended China was “militarizing the global commons” through the Straight of Malacca to justify American military presence in Pacific – he discounted the verity that US permanent military and civilian personnel deployments overseas had exceeded 228,000 as of September 30.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday lashed at the US concept of “free and open Indo-Pacific (FIOP) Region” and dubbed the provocative actions “destructive” which goals to divide the regional countries into “interest groups.”
Pacific is US Department of Defense’s priority-theater where it pledges to extend its commitment of regional stability and prosperity through “pursuit of preparedness, partnerships, and the promotion of a networked region” and in enactment of its phantasm, US has even shown willingness to budge its troops from Afghanistan to Pacific.
Immediately after it revived peace talks with Afghan Taliban, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper in December said he wants to reduce US military presence in Afghanistan “with or without (peace) deal” to pay greater concentration on the strategic competition with China.
Fear of turbulence in Afghanistan was the reason why just hours before strikes, Secretary Mike Pompeo hammered Tehran for its indisposition to join Afghan peace process and accused it for maintaining a relationship with Taliban and other militant factions as well as operating proxy networks in Afghanistan.
So while China, Russia and Pakistan were exerting deep efforts to decode a political solution in Afghanistan to end the US impasse in cemetery of superpowers, Washington was conspiring to relocate its troops from Kabul to the Indo-Pacific to seek a face-off vis-à-vis Beijing and Moscow.
US sees partnership with India a vital gadget to its Indo-Pacific vision. Though Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared up in June 2018 during Shangri-La Dialogue that New Delhi does not see Indo-Pacific region as a strategy or “Quad”, an alliance comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US, a threat to China – the relocation of US troops from Afghanistan to the Indo-Pacific peddled Washington has aligned New Delhi to alter its strategy.
Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar’s remarks last month about “open and free” Indo-Pacific described a changed New Delhi stance in region. Indo-US wired strategic partnership is fated to elicit tensions for China, after Washington would alienate Islamabad having withdrawn from Kabul. The US in return is likely to aid India to encircle Pakistan.
Even as, Islamabad could seek profounder assurances from Washington that it won’t echo history of ditching Pakistan once its objectives are met in Afghanistan – China and Pakistan would be closely monitoring the evolving developments and ratchet up military and strategic engagements to protect each other’s interests.