The US has deployed elements of the 11th Airborne Division and several weapons, including a HIMARS launcher with long-range missiles, to the Aleutian Islands south of Alaska due to Russian-Chinese maritime exercises, Business Insider reports.
The move is intended to send a clear message to America’s adversaries, said the division commander, Maj. Gen. Jose Hilbert.
According to him, this decision should demonstrate that the US military is capable of “skillfully and without warning moving resources even to the most remote places.” 130 US military personnel are taking part in the exercises, and the exercises are also taking place on the island of Shemya, where a US military base and airfield are located.
At a February exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center Pacific (JPMRC) in Alaska, participants discussed the “importance of restoring combat readiness” in extreme conditions to deter U.S. adversaries in the region, BI wrote. The publication reported that the U.S. military has begun preparing soldiers for potential cold-weather conflicts as concerns grow in Washington over Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
China is taking part in the Russian Navy’s Ocean 2024 exercises, which will take place from September 1 to 16 in the Pacific, Arctic, Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic oceans. More than 400 ships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 aircraft and helicopters, 7,000 weapons, military and special equipment, and 90,000 military personnel are taking part in them. The Pentagon has previously stated that it does not see this as a threat to the United States and other NATO countries.
Before the start of the exercises, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin He accused the United States of provoking an arms race and seeking to “disrupt the existing security architecture and balance of power” in the Asia-Pacific region. He called the Navy’s role key in preparing to repel “possible military aggression in any direction, including in the ocean and maritime zone.”
China and Russia have been holding joint military exercises for two decades; according to the South China Morning Post, there have been 20 of them between 2013 and 2023. Beijing says the military cooperation is not directed against third countries and also blames the US for provocations at sea and in the air near China.
