Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Nimitz into the Indo-Pacific theater and is in talks to visit the Hawaii-based headquarters of troops in that region, a sign that countering China will be a major focus of the Biden Pentagon.
“We’re a Pacific power, and we have responsibilities there,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
“He views China as the biggest pacing challenge for this department,” Kirby said of Austin, a former commander of U.S. Central Command while in uniform.
“You heard the secretary talk about the stronger focus we need to apply to the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the organization he intends to visit, would not confirm to the Washington Examiner how long the Nimitz would remain in the region, which it must traverse to return to port in Bremerton, Washington, after nearly 10 months at sea.
The Nimitz’s extended time at sea is due, in part, to an extended stay in the Persian Gulf ordered by former President Donald Trump when tensions with Iran rose at the start of the year.
The presence of the Nimitz puts two active aircraft carriers in the Pacific theater. The USS Theodore Roosevelt began its deployment to the region on Dec. 23. The USS Ronald Reagan is currently ported in Japan and undergoing maintenance, the command confirmed.
A defense official also confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Austin’s office is in talks with Indo-Pacific Command’s Adm. Phil Davidson for a visit to the command, which remains at a heightened coronavirus health protection status, known as HPCON Charlie, one level higher than the current Pentagon status.
Austin indicated to senators at his Jan. 19 confirmation hearing that he wanted to travel to the Indo-Pacific region as soon as possible.
“I also very much look forward to going out and refurbishing those alliances and making sure that we build additional capacity where possible,” Austin told Delaware Sen. Jack Reed, a ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “When we do begin to travel again, that region will be one of my first stops.”
Kirby declined to say whether Austin would press Pacific partners South Korea and Japan for similar cost-sharing payments that are perceived to have harmed relationships with the Trump administration.
“The secretary remains committed to reinvigorating our alliances and our partnerships around the world,” he said. “Five of our seven treaty alliances are in the Pacific.”
