US Army chief in Indo-Pacific calls for display of enhanced military muscle
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General Ronald Clark, the commander of US Army forces in Asia, wants to visibly increase American military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to enhance deterrence and reduce the chances of war.
“I’d like to be able to reveal enough capability and readiness in the time that I’m in command here to deter war,” Clark told the FT in an interview.
The commander of US Army Pacific, one of the components of Indo-Pacific Command, said he wanted to demonstrate more “exquisite” military capabilities to help “show the adversary some things that they should be concerned about”.
His comments come as concerns mount about China’s military. The Pentagon has this year been less assertive in calling out China in public — toning down a practice that defence secretary Pete Hegseth has criticised as “peacocking” — but the US military has continued to ratchet up efforts to boost deterrence.
As part of that push, US Army Pacific has expanded its role, including by temporarily deploying weapons in the Philippines, Japan and other parts of the region that would play a critical role in a war with China, including over Taiwan.
One example, Clark said, is Typhon, a mobile missile launch system that has been used in exercises in the Philippines and Australia and can fire both SM-6 missiles at ships and Tomahawks that could strike parts of coastal China from the Philippines.
The US Army has also been employing the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) in ways that are designed to send a clear message to China about the joint military capabilities of America and its allies, Clark said.
He pointed to an exercise earlier this year in which the army moved long-range precision weapons from the US to the Philippines and brought ammunition from South Korea for a live-fire mission. At each stage, the actions were visible to any adversary, which he stressed was important for deterrence.
“It causes them to go: ‘Hey this is something that we have to think about,’” Clark said. “You can see it operate and we can do it at scale at a time and place of our choosing. So, you reveal capability in order to give your adversary pause.”
US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has sparked anxiety among allies about Washington’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific. But regional defence officials and diplomats said military co-operation with the US has continued to expand.
Some of that is visible in the joint exercises the US conducts from the Philippines to Australia that have set records over the past year in terms of the number of allies and partners participating and the scope of activities.
“Despite what the narrative may be, the countries in the region realise that it’s important that we build and thicken those partnerships,” Clark said. “Being the security partner of choice . . . is key and it’s in their interest to work with us that way.”
Clark pointed to Cambodia, a country that has ties with the Chinese military but whose prime minister is a West Point graduate, as an example of success.
The four-star general made Cambodia his first destination after assuming command two years ago and has become close to its army chief. In February, the US and Cambodia will conduct a joint exercise called Angkor Sentinel that has not been held in almost a decade due a deterioration in bilateral relations.
One challenge the US military faces in Asia is that, in some cases, allies are nervous about the permanent deployment of weapons that would anger China. Beijing, for example, has been heavily critical of the use of Typhon systems.
Asked how the US could sustain deterrence under such conditions and given the “tyranny of distance” created by the vast oceans, Clark said US Army joint exercises — collectively known as Operation Pathways — are spread out across the year while also concentrating on periods that are viewed as most dangerous.
That means that even non-permanent deployments of weapons can play critical roles in both deterrence and also in the case of a conflict.
“They’re pretty dense,” Clark said of the exercises. “They cover the times of year that we think the adversary may have the best opportunity to conduct some sort of deleterious activity against another partner or ally.”
Clark said the US Army had never been so involved in the Pacific with additional divisions, a corps headquarters and multi-domain formations that create more options to support the joint force and boost deterrence with allies.
In one example, US Army Pacific last November oversaw the creation of the 1st Theater Information Advantage Detachment, a unit designed to facilitate information-age warfare by using means ranging from military intelligence and psychological operations to cyber capabilities and electronic warfare.
Colonel Sean Heidgerken, the unit’s commander, told the FT it serves many functions, including identifying locations in the Pacific where US access may be at risk, or helping allies tackle threats against infrastructure such as ports.
“At no other point in my career have I seen the army commit this level of resources and capability to the Pacific,” said Clark.
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