Ring around China

The United States Air Force will dramatically expand its military presence across the Pacific this year, sending jets to Thailand, India, Singapore and Australia, according to the service’s top general in the region.

For a major chunk of America’s military community, the so-called “pivot to Asia” might seem like nothing more than an empty catchphrase, especially with the Middle East once again in flames. But for the Air Force at least, the shift is very real. And the idea behind its pivot is simple: Ring China with U.S. and allied forces, just as the West did to the Soviet Union back in the Cold War.

U.S. military officials constantly say they aren’t trying to contain China; they’re working with the Chinese and other Pacific nations to “maintain stability” in the region. Still, a ring of bases looks an awful lot like something we’ve seen before.

In Australia, for example, the Air Force will dispatch “fighters, tankers, and at some point in the future, maybe bombers on a rotational basis,” said Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, chief of U.S. Air Force operations in the Pacific.

This is just the start of the Air Force’s plan to expand its presence in Asia, according to Carlisle.

All of this helps the United States develop a network of bases in the region and build ties to allies that operate American equipment and know how to work with the U.S. military.

The Navy and Marines have already started their pivot to Asia, with the Navy basing combat ships in Singapore and the Marines sending troops on deployments to Australia. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is also refurbishing old World War II airfields on Pacific Islands.

U.S. officials keep saying that these deployments to the Pacific will be just for a short while. But these rotating troops will still need support staff waiting for them at all of these sites-which means America’s expansion in the Pacific would be anything but temporary.