Outgoing U.S. Indo-Pacific commander urges more action to counter China’s military power

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• Geoff Bennett:

  The Biden administration calls the People's Republic of China, or PRC, the only country with the will, the intent, and the military strength to change the world order.

  The U.S. military officer responsible for China and the vast area from Hawaii to India is stepping down this week after three years and a 40-year career. He spoke in his final interview with Nick Schifrin in Honolulu.

• Nick Schifrin:

  The military calls it Indo-Pacific Command, or INDOPACOM. It covers half the surface area of the planet and more than 60 percent of the world's economy and population.

  And, increasingly, Admiral John Aquilino sees China speeding up. Already, Beijing fielded the world's largest military, and in the three years since he's been in command, Aquilino says China has built more than 400 aircraft, 20 major warships, and doubled its missile inventory, leading Aquilino to say that the U.S., its allies, and its partners must go faster.

• Adm. John Aquilino, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command:

  As I look at over my last three years, the security environment has changed drastically, and not in a good way.

  When you look at the PRC as the most concerning security threat that exists, they continue to be more aggressive in a variety of areas. They're challenging the current international rules to benefit an authoritarian society that does not provide benefit for anyone else in the region.

  They have expanded their military capability. Their verbalization is more aggressive and their actions are more aggressive, and they have now accelerated to dangerous.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Perhaps most dangerous in the Philippines. On Tuesday, Chinese boats hit a Philippine boat with water cannons in the Scarborough Shoal, which China claims as its own. It also claims the Second Thomas Shoal, where Chinese boats have rammed Philippine boats trying to resupply a ship the Philippines intentionally grounded.

  The U.S. acknowledges it is obligated to defend the Philippines.

  Are Chinese actions increasing the chances of U.S.-Chinese conflict?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  Yes, the Chinese actions are certainly destabilizing to the region. They are putting at risk the Philippine Coast Guardsmen, sailors, and those fishermen that operate in their exclusive economic zone within the full rights of the Philippines.

• Nick Schifrin:

  If one of these incidents becomes deadly, then that becomes a very serious challenge for the U.S. and for the military.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  That could absolutely be a challenge for the United States, again, through the policy level.

  Nick, the important part of this, again, it's the Philippines today, but we have to highlight the fact that China has these same claims throughout the entire South China Sea.

• Nick Schifrin:

  You recently said the Chinese — quote — "believe they can get away with it." Does that mean they haven't paid enough price for their actions?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  Well, they have clearly made a risk determination that taking aggressive actions is within their interests and to the benefit of their strategic objectives.

  You would have to ask them on how they're thinking about this. Their actions tell a story, as I look at it.

• Nick Schifrin:

  In about three weeks, Taiwan inaugurates a new president known as William Lai. Beijing calls him a dangerous separatist.

  You recently called out increasingly aggressive coercion and pressure by Beijing toward Taipei. What do you expect from Beijing around Inauguration Day?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  What I would say is, the United States' policy as it applies to Taiwan has not changed. The United States supports the peaceful resolution of this dispute to the satisfaction of people on both sides of the straits, free of coercion.

  And the issue here is, we are not in the free-of-coercion space. Increase aggressiveness in the maritime domain, in the air domain, in the cyber domain, and in the information domain, and not just against the mainland island of Taiwan, but against Matsu, Kinmen, and the other places that we are watching more aggressive behavior.

• Nick Schifrin:

  These are Taiwanese islands. Some of them are closer to mainland than they are to Taipei.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  That's correct. Operations in spaces that have been designed to separate our forces, those are being challenged.

• Nick Schifrin:

  The Trump and Biden administrations have both urged Taiwan to purchase fewer fighter jets and tanks and more mobile, smaller weapons. Some experts say they haven't done enough, but the theory has now been proven in Ukraine.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  They have absolutely taken steps in the wake of the Ukraine invasion to, number one, understand that the unthinkable is potentially real. And they have taken all the right steps.

  As it applies to their defense, they get a choice on what they should buy, how they should work it, how they integrate it, and how they deliver it. And, again, under the Taiwan Relations Act, we're standing by to support that.

  When you look at the INDOPACOM AOR here, from the border of Pakistan and India over to this part…

• Nick Schifrin:

  Across the region, the military has broadened cooperation with allies and now operates from more bases, thanks to bilateral and multilateral political agreements, in part designed to complicate Beijing's war planning.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  What I want is for all of these nations to be able to operate together, if need be, to support each other when required, whether it be for humanitarian assistance or for the United States to execute our mutual defense treaty responsibilities or ultimately to protect the global commons.

• Nick Schifrin:

  China has its own expanding alliance.

  You recently testified that China has helped Russia rebuild and reconstitute its defense industrial base. How much has it done?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  What I can watch from this side is the ability of Beijing to utilize a cover of civil-military fusion to be able to provide capabilities to the Russians below the level of direct lethal aid.

  And, again, that is this no-limits relationship that we should be concerned about.

• Nick Schifrin:

  A U.S. official gave me this detail. China has sent Russia billions of dollars worth of machine tools that Moscow has likely used to build missiles, microelectronics for tanks and aircraft. It almost sounds like this kind of partnership that Nixon and Kissinger were able to prevent during the Cold War.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  And in the words of President Xi Jinping, this is a relationship not seen in 100 years. Those are his words.

  And the actions support it.

• Nick Schifrin:

  North Korea has supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, in addition to more than a million artillery shells. Russia has used these ballistic missiles, including in Kharkiv, what was once Ukraine's second largest city.

  Are you concerned this is a two-way street, that North Korean missiles, which are not particularly good, get tested, get battle-tested in Ukraine by Russia and therefore could destabilize the peninsula?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  Absolutely.

  First of all, when you talk about the authoritarian nations, no one ever does anything to help anybody else for the goodness of the other person. There is a quid pro quo that applies. So we are concerned about the access to increased technology in North Korea.

  But the main theme that's really concerning here and that everyone has to see is, it links authoritarian nations in ways that hasn't — that we haven't seen in our history in a long, long time.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Last week, President Biden signed into law a bill that would require TikTok's Chinese owner to divest or face a ban in the U.S.

  You have pointed out that no Chinese apps are being used at INDOPACOM. If you don't mind my asking a slightly personal question, would you let your family use TikTok?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  I have encouraged my daughters not to. There is a risk there, right, the intelligence gathering risk, the information, misinformation and disinformation transmission that we see.

  Again, that's the reason that I have prohibited it here at INDOPACOM.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Well, do your daughters listen to you?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  No one in my house listens to me.

  (Laughter)

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  This jaunt down here for me, Nick, this is my place of sanity, right?

• Nick Schifrin:

  At Joint Base Pearl Harbor, the guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh has just rebased from Japan. Aquilino has pushed the military to create a regional joint task force, the first outside a theater of war.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  The more aggressive rhetoric, and certainly the more aggressive actions over my three years, have led me to a place where the synchronization of our force is required, and the best way to do that is by putting in place a standing joint task force to totally and seamlessly integrate our operations, our actions, our plans in order to be postured in a fight tonight stance.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Standing here three years later, what have you not accomplished that you hoped you would?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  What I would say has been consistent over three years. I haven't been able to drive the entire machine to move faster.

  I don't think we have accelerated enough across all domains and all areas to be able to, no kidding, accelerate the delivery of deterrent effects and ultimately posture ourselves in a position that is really where we need to be in this current security environment.

  For all of us, we all have to continue to go faster.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Do you think you have a legacy after three years?

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  Everybody gets a legacy, whether they like it or not. I will let other people write the history.

  I couldn't be more proud to have been serving with and serving alongside the 380,000 U.S. service members in this region.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Admiral Aquilino, thank you very much.

• Adm. John Aquilino:

  Thanks, Nick.