WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are straining the United States military’s ability to respond to China, its most powerful adversary in the Indo-Pacific region, a top U.S. admiral warned Tuesday.
“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks,” Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said while speaking at the Brookings Institution. “To say otherwise would be dishonest.”
Concerns over the U.S. stockpile grew more acute this year, Paparo noted, attributing the deficiencies to the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip in addition to China’s growing ambition and heavy investment in its own capabilities.
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The Chinese military launched large-scale air-and-sea drills around Taiwan last month, followed by live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The show of strength from Beijing heightened worries in Washington.
“Inherently, it imposes costs on the readiness of America to respond in the Indo-Pacific region, which is the most stressing theater for the quantity and quality of munitions, because [China] is the most capable potential adversary in the world,” Paparo said.
The admiral insisted that the U.S. should restock its depleted inventory to better deal with the threats it faces.
“We should replenish those stocks and then some,” Paparo said. “I was already dissatisfied with the magazine depth. I’m a little more dissatisfied with the magazine depth. You know, it’s a time for straight talk.”
President Joe Biden has pledged to support both Israel and Ukraine, securing billions in U.S. aid and weapons for their wars.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” Biden said in an Oval Office address in October.
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“American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it’s just not worth it,” Biden added.
The Biden administration has provided over $64 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in Feb. 2022. Kyiv has received an array of defense systems and missiles, including three Patriot air defense batteries and an undisclosed amount of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, from the U.S.
As for Israel, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin deployed an advanced antimissile system in October — known as a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Battery (THAAD) — to the region along with 100 American troops to help its top Middle East ally thwart attacks by Iran and its proxies. The U.S. has also bolstered its defense posture in the Middle East to help defend Israel, the Pentagon said.
