China’s Growing Challenge to U.S. Naval Power
On his recent trip to Asia, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel tried to allay fears that the 7% cut to the Pentagon’s budget due to the sequester will diminish America’s protective influence in the region. Referring to President Obama’s pledge to “rebalance” U.S. forces in favor of Asia, Mr. Hagel told reporters that America is carrying forward “every measurement of our commitment to that ‘rebalance.’ ”
He also spoke of U.S. efforts to improve military-to-military relations with China. His aides pointed to plans for increasing the U.S. Marine contingent based in Darwin on Australia’s north coast to 1,100 from 250.
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Photo credit: U.S. Navy