Adm. Sam Paparo leads the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command. INDOPACOM is responsible for deterring and, if necessary, defeating China in what would be the nation’s largest war effort since 1945. Fortunately, Paparo is widely regarded within the U.S. military, intelligence community, and by close allies as an exceptionally impressive officer.

That matters because what Paparo had to say at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday deserves close contemplation.