Aquilino confirmed as INDOPACOM chief

The Senate has confirmed Adm. John Aquilino to be chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the area of operations being prioritized by the Pentagon, which sees China as its "pacing challenge."

During his March nomination hearing, Aquilino said the United States needs to increase its investments in the region because China's goal is to "supplant U.S. security leadership." He also praised Congress for establishing the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, though he said it should be viewed as "foundational."

"It will take a longer-term, sustained investment to be able to generate the deterrence required," he said.

The former head of INDOPACOM, the retiring Adm. Phil Davidson, is seeking $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2022 for the PDI, an increase of $2.5 billion from FY-21. Davidson has also said INDOPACOM would need $22.7 billion for the fund between FY-23 and FY-27.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) has said he wants to maintain "momentum" behind last year's PDI investments as the committee crafts its version of the FY-22 defense authorization bill.

"Part of managing our strategic competition with China and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific is the need to maintain a strong presence in the region and a credible conventional deterrent to military aggression," he said.

In his written answers to the committee's advance policy questions, Aquilino outlined how he believed the PDI's investments should be prioritized.

"Defending Guam as U.S. territory, including the infrastructure to manage an integrated joint force west of the international date line, should be PDI's number one priority," he said. "This includes establishing a distributed force posture, establishing a Mission Partner Environment (MPE), and advancing Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability (PMTEC) to modernize our ranges."