By Zachary Keck
A senior U.S. defense official says the Asia pivot “can’t happen” if budget cuts continue.
A senior U.S. defense official told an industry audience on Tuesday that the pivot to Asia “can’t happen” because of budgetary cuts to U.S. defense spending.
According to the Navy Times, a privately owned publication, Katrina McFarland, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, told an industry conference on Tuesday: “Right now, the pivot is being looked at again, because candidly it can’t happen.”
This seemingly stood in direct contrast to previous statements from the U.S. Defense Department and Obama administration, which claimed that the Asia-Pacific would be shielded from the defense budget cuts.
However, following the original article reporting her remarks, McFarland clarified her original statement. Speaking through a Pentagon spokesperson, McFarland said:
“This a.m. when I spoke at a conference, I was asked a question about the budget, that will be officially released today, and how it relates to our pivot to Asia. I was reiterating what [Defense Secretary Chuck] Hagel said last week: That the shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific requires us to ‘adapt, innovate, and make difficult (budgetary and acquisition) decisions to ensure that our military remains ready and capable.’ That’s exactly what we’ve done in this budget. The rebalance to Asia can and will continue.”
It’s unclear how the two statements coincide, if at all, assuming the first reported statement was taken in context.
Read the full story at The Diplomat