By Zachary Keck
The Pentagon and U.S. military continue to dominate the so-called pivot to Asia.
Despite its growing operations in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, America’s pivot to Asia still seems to be led by the Department of Defense and military.
In a press conference on Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Admiral John Kirby said that the Pentagon and armed forces’ new responsibilities in the Middle East would not come at the expense of its focus on Asia.
“I think given the fact that there’s a lot going on in the world that we’re still making these visits and still having these discussions speaks volumes about how important we believe the Asia Pacific theater is,” Kirby told reporters. He also pointed out that “more than 350,000 American troops are based somewhere in the Pacific, 200 ships, the majority of the Navy is in the Pacific. And we have five of our seven treaty alliances are in the Pacific region. We’re very committed to that region.”
The admiral has a point: despite the distractions elsewhere in the world, defense and military officials continue to make the Asia-Pacific a high priority. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel just returned from a roughly week long trip to India and Australia. It was his sixth trip to the region as secretary of defense, and Kirby said that Hagel intends to visit the region at least four times this year.
Read the full story at The Diplomat