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.
Paparo warned that U.S. weapons supplies to Ukraine are undermining U.S. deterrence in the Pacific. Noting that he was unconcerned with the supply of short-range weapons to Ukraine, Paparo added, “With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks, you know, and to say otherwise would be dishonest. … Inherently, it imposes costs…
