On a r
ecent trip to China, Gen. Paul Hester asked a large unit commander how China would integrate that nation’s anti-satellite capability into its war plans. The Chinese commander politely sidestepped the question, but admitted to Hester that he had only learned about the ASAT test from Western media. He also privately told Hester that China’s space and air assets are not integrated, and that he hoped China would pattern a new organization like Air Force Space Command to bring them together. It was “an enriching discussion,” Hester said during AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington.
The Pentagon released its new National Defense Strategy late Jan. 23, emphasizing a new commitment to the Western Hemisphere. But while that focus garnered most of the headlines, the strategy’s subtle shifts on China raise questions about how the Trump administration aims to leverage U.S. military power in the Indo-Pacific.
