Revealing documents about US plans in the Pacific

Although the stated goal is to contain China, the bloc would seriously affect Russia's security. Here is Sputnik's coverage of the US plan.

US military forces in the Pacific. Photo: File

Full control

Talks about creating a military bloc in Asia similar to the North Atlantic Alliance began in the late 2000s. In 2007, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed organizing the so-called "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" (QUAD or "Diamond Quad") with the participation of the United States, Japan, Australia and India at an early stage.

Later, other Asian countries bordering China were also invited to join. It is clear that the Americans are behind this plan, considering China as their main geopolitical enemy.

Japan is heavily dependent on the United States - US Marines have long been present on the islands, the US has built powerful military bases here, and Washington provides weapons and military equipment to the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Another US satellite in the Pacific is Australia, which is the main US ally outside NATO. The Australians participated in the Gulf War and have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. The 80,000-strong Australian Armed Forces have Abrams tanks, M113 armored personnel carriers, M198 and M2A2 howitzers, Javelin missile systems and M4A1 rifles, as well as Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters.

According to the Russian General Staff, the US is accelerating the formation of an anti-China alliance based on the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue”. At the same time, they are promoting relations with India.

“In addition to Australia and Japan, the United States attaches great importance to India’s participation in QUAD, which has a tradition of independently formulating its foreign policy,” said Admiral Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

American soldiers during a military exercise. Photo: Archive

According to Colonel Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences, Washington will try to attract other countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia into the "Diamond Quadrilateral".

“The United States wants to create a vast bloc that covers the entire western part of the Pacific Ocean. Of course, this threatens Russia. Everything happens on our eastern borders. American actions may lead to the creation of a Russian-Chinese military alliance. At the same time, India will face an urgent problem – to side with the United States with quite serious consequences for itself, or to support Russia,” he said.

Taking advantage of conflict

The expert suggests that if events develop according to this scenario, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China and India, will turn into a political-military bloc that will open its “doors” to other countries.

That would further complicate the situation in the region for the United States. However, Washington still hopes to establish complete control over the Asia-Pacific region, which, according to the Russian General Staff, will in the future become the locomotive of the world economy and the arena of competition between leading powers.

To lure New Delhi into the QUAD, US politicians will exploit the Sino-Indian contradictions, - Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Konstantin Sokolov told Sputnik.

"There is nothing surprising in this. India and China are the two strongest countries in the region, the rest only play a supporting role. As always, the US's goal is proxy wars, not to waste its own strength. Military support, information support is a secondary issue."

Disputed border area between China and India. Graphic: NYT

Political expert Sokolov has no doubt that the creation of such a military bloc would have the most negative consequences for Russia.

“We have traditionally had friendly relations with both China and India. Attempts to intensify confrontation between India and China could bring Moscow great difficulties in its foreign policy,” he stressed.

However, experts all believe that the process of establishing a new military alliance in the Asia-Pacific region will take several years. For the simple reason that the opponents of this plan and the supporters have an equal number of people on each side.

“There are many wise people in India, China and other countries who understand that such an alliance will increase the US presence in the region, but will not help strengthen national defense and security. On the contrary, a focal point of confrontation will appear in the region,” Mr. Sokolov stressed.

Prepare for war

In recent years, the United States has significantly increased its military presence in the Pacific region. American warships regularly enter the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters around the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which China has disputed with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region for decades.

US Navy exercises in the Pacific near Chinese waters have also become more frequent. In June, for example, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan entered the South China Sea. The US Navy announced that the carrier strike group was acting to ensure maritime security for US allies in the region.

Since 2020, the US Navy has deployed three aircraft carrier strike groups in the region at the same time. B-52, B-1 and B-2 strategic bombers are periodically deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in the Mariana Islands. Sometimes up to 15 nuclear-capable aircraft are deployed there.

US withdraws troops from Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters

The Pentagon has increasingly involved friendly nations in its exercises. Japanese and American sailors, for example, have doubled the frequency of their joint training, meeting 23 times in 2021. Beijing has clearly objected. But in response, the US has said it will sail wherever international law allows.

The Russian General Staff clarified: The United States has deployed a group of troops consisting of 400,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2019, the United States developed a comprehensive strategy, aiming to gain superiority through military presence, increased training and combat activities, and equipping the armed forces with modern combat systems.

A few years ago, in the Pacific region, the Pentagon created a new unit - the Multi-Domain Task Force - to deal with "strategic adversaries", to penetrate the defense system and destroy important enemy targets. In total, there are more than 200 US Armed Forces facilities in the region, including more than 50 military bases.

In addition, Washington plans to establish a new fleet, the First Fleet, by 2024 in the Asia-Pacific region. The new fleet will operate in the eastern Indian Ocean. This will free up resources from the 7th Fleet to focus on missions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, while increasing military activities to contain China in South and Southeast Asia.