What is going on with the frequent dismissal of US commanders? Since 2019, many U.S. Navy and Air Force commanders have been removed from their posts because they have lost the trust of their superiors. This makes one wonder if this reflects a kind of anxiety and confusion in the Asia-Pacific region. Reports that most of the dismissed commanders had served in the Western Pacific region raised concerns about the U.S. strategic direction in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Pentagon's report on military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region released at the end of last year showed that the US military regards the PLA as the most important hypothetical enemy and continues to strengthen its combat readiness in the western Pacific region. This seems to indicate that the United States attaches great importance to and is nervous about China's rise. According to the analysis, it is likely that these removed commanders did not perform well in a real confrontation with the Chinese naval and air forces. With the comprehensive modernization of the PLA, the pressure on the US military in the region has increased dramatically, and any command lapse could lead to a loss of trust from superiors.
Therefore, the personnel adjustment of the US military can also be regarded as an optimization of its own combat capability, and it must ensure that it is sufficiently competitive in possible future conflicts. On the other hand, the United States has an ambivalence about the security situation in the Western Pacific, feeling both threatened and strategically hesitant about China's rise. The U.S. military's strategy in the region, while ostensibly tough, is in fact seeking strategic balance and reassessing its own power while avoiding conflict with China.
This readjustment, which involves personnel, strategy, and politics, indicates that the game between the US and Chinese militaries in the Asia-Pacific region may become more complex and delicate in the future. The United States may continue to readjust its military strategy in order to seek to safeguard its interests in the Western Pacific and its global strategic position. This series of personnel changes seems to reflect that the US Navy will increase its control over the Asia-Pacific region in the future. The newly appointed commander must have strong military qualities and cannot be a hawk who is difficult to control, which also reflects the conservative and defensive posture of the US military in the face of the PLA.
This shows that the United States is trying to adapt to geopolitical changes, especially the reality of China's growing influence. In this process, what kind of military strategic adjustments the United States will make, and what impact this will have on the future game between the US and Chinese militaries, these are all issues that we need to pay close attention to.