Gen. Howie Chandler, Pacific Air Forces boss, noted that his predecessor at PACAF, now-retired Gen. Paul Hester, had the opportunity to visit China, and now top Chinese officials are asking for a reciprocal visit. The head of the Chinese regional air element opposite Taiwan has requested a visit to PACAF headquarters in Hawaii. “We’re going to do that,” Chandler said in Thursday afternoon in Orlando at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium, partly because “we do not understand what their [military] intentions are.” Correcting that murkiness could help eliminate misunderstandings in the future, and that, in turn, could reduce the possibility of a conflict. Given the “one China” policy, Chandler added, it is unlikely that the US will begin to engage in military training exercises with either China or Taiwan individually.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3