US to dodge Chinese missiles

 

In Indo-Pacific, US eyes 'agile' posture to dodge Chinese missiles

 

 

 

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. estimates that China has more than 2,000 ballistic and cruise missiles. The vast majority are short- to medium-range weapons, the sort that Washington was barred for years from developing or deploying under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia.
 
With China possibly having a missile advantage in the Indo-Pacific, U.S. defense strategists are having second thoughts about the current military posture of concentrating masses of troops in East Asia -- namely Japan and South Korea -- and Guam.
 
This week, Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, who heads the Indo-Pacific Command, talked of a more distributed force blueprint, one that mixes the various branches of the military and is interoperable with allies.
 
He calls it a more agile posture. At the heart of the plan is to make it more difficult for Chinese missiles to reach and inflict damage in one strike.