CREATING A COMBAT-CREDIBLE POSTURE

摘要

The Pentagon's new National Defense Strategy, released Oct. 27, declares that China is the "pacing challenge" of this "decisive decade" while citing posture as a key element of deterring Chinese aggression. But within hours of the strategy's publication, the Financial Times reported - and defense officials later confirmed - that the Pentagon plans to withdraw two fighter squadrons stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, over the next two years. Though it plans to begin temporary deployments of more advanced aircraft, it acknowledged it has made no decision on a long-term solution to replace the loss of forward-stationed combat power.