US Pacific Command changes name underscoring growing importance of India to Pentagon
James Mattis
US Pacific Command has about 375,000 civilian and military personnel assigned to its area of responsibility, which includes India
The USmilitary on Wednesday renamed itsPacificCommandthe USIndo-PacificCommand, in a largelysymbolicmove underscoring the growing importance ofIndiato the Pentagon, USofficials said.
USPacificCommand, which is responsible for all USmilitary activity in the greaterPacific region, has about 375,000 civilian and military personnel assigned to its area of responsibility, which includesIndia.
"Relationships with ourPacificandIndian Ocean allies and partners have proven critical to maintaining regional stability," USDefense Secretary Jim Mattis said in prepared remarks.
"In recognition of the increasing connectivity between theIndian andPacificOceans, today we renamethe USPacificCommandto USIndo-PacificCommand," Mattis said.
He was speaking during a change ofcommandceremony. Admiral Philip Davidson was assuming leadership of thecommandfrom Admiral Harry Harris, who is President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to South Korea.
The renaming does not mean additional assets will be sent to the region at this time but rather recognizesIndia's increasing military relevance for the United States.
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In 2016, the United States andIndiasigned an agreement governing theuse of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply, a step toward building defense ties as they seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said they had noted the namechange.
"We will continue to pay attention to developments," he told a regular monthly news briefing.
The United States is also keen to tap intoIndia's large defense market. It has emerged asIndia's No. 2 weapons supplier, closing $15 billion worth of deals over the last decade.
Mattis has been pushing for a waiver for countries likeIndia after Trump signed a law last year which said that any country trading with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors would face sanctions.
"I thinkIndiaand the relationship with the United States is the potentially most historic opportunity we have in the 21st-century and I intend to pursue that quite rigorously," Davidson, the incoming head of thecommand, said last month.
However, experts said thenamechange would mean little unless it was tied to a broader strategy.
"Renaming PACOM is ultimately asymbolicact ... (it) will have a very limited impact unless the USfollows through with a significant array of initiatives and investments that reflect a wider aperture," said Abraham Denmark, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia under President Barack Obama.