Campbell’s Doctrine in the North Pacific: How will the elections and a new Commander appointment reshape the strategy of deterring China in the region?

On May 3, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a ceremony to appoint Admiral Samuel Paparo as the new Commander of U.S. Forces Indo-Pacific (USINDOPACOM).

In this position, he replaced Admiral John Aquilino, who led the U.S. regional forces from 2021 to 2024 and has now retired.

It is expected that Admiral Paparo will continue John Aquilino’s policy of building a collective security mechanism in the Indo-Pacific, particularly because of the United States’ urgent need to neutralize the threat of China’s new, aggressive tactics in the North Pacific.