Admiral Aquilino said the U.S. witnessed Beijing’s aggressive actions “sooner than expected.”
The candidate to head the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command told lawmakers that the future of the world may come down to how the U.S. and its allies respond to China’s increasing militarization and aggressiveness.
“The U.S. Navy is the most powerful, the greatest navy on the planet,” Navy Adm. John Aquilino said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Aquilino currently commands the Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
At the same time, he warned that the U.S. advantage is slipping away.
“China is building up its capabilities and capacity and closing that gap,” he said. – “We’ve seen aggressive action sooner than we expected – whether it’s on the border with India, Hong Kong or the Uighurs.
U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Aquilino to replace the current head of Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip Davidson, who is retiring.
