TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, said Thursday the scale of China's military exercises has become so large that they could be used as a “fig leaf” to conceal an attack on Taiwan.
The Financial Times reported that Paparo made the remarks at the Honolulu Defense Forum in Hawaii. He also warned of the growing collaboration between China, Russia, and North Korea, describing it as an “emerging axis of autocracy” and "a triangle of troublemakers."
Paparo said the PLA has substantially stepped up its maneuvers around Taiwan in recent years. This makes it increasingly harder to distinguish between major military exercises and real preparations for an assault.
“We’re very close to that (point) where on a daily basis the fig leaf of an exercise could very well hide operational warning,” warned Paparo.
Paparo said the US has observed China, Russia, and North Korea's joint activities, including bomber patrols that impinge on the US air defense identification zone, or ADIZ. This included the sharing of anti-satellite capabilities and advanced submarine technologies, extending “from the seabed to the heavens.”
The report also noted that a US defense official warned about Russia's increasing military activity in the Indo-Pacific. The official said that since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has deployed seven newly built submarines to the Indo-Pacific, including three nuclear-powered submarines carrying nuclear weapons, two nuclear-powered missile submarines, and two attack submarines.
Considering China’s escalating military activities, Paparo stressed the need for the Pentagon to more rapidly seal holes in US defenses. This could include increasing the number of deployable weapons in the Indo-Pacific.
According to the Financial Times, US defense officials are concerned that if war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the US may not have enough weapons to respond. At the forum, Paparo said, "Our magazines run low. Our maintenance backlogs grow longer each month," while the margin for error continues to shrink.
He acknowledged that US adversaries are aware of these issues and are taking steps to exploit them.
Paparo added there was a need for the US military to accelerate the acquisition and deployment of unmanned systems. He said that AI would be a “key tool” for improving early warning capabilities.
In June, Paparo advocated for significantly increasing the production and deployment of autonomous systems in the Taiwan Strait to set up a "hellscape" aimed at deterring or thwarting a Chinese invasion.
