The commander of United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific today discussed the importance of working with regional allies in order to deter adversaries and maintain a rules-based international order.
While participating in a morning conversation about the Space Force at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies just outside of Washington, Space Force Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Mastalir said that U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region are working to transition from numerous bilateral exercises with partners and allies in the region to more multilateral engagements.
"Demonstrating on a daily basis with your allies and partners that you're prepared to fight and win a war, should you need to, is really the ultimate way to deter a war; so that's really important," Mastalir said.
To that end, he said that Space Force and U.S. Space Command actively work to engage with partners and allies, regardless of the level of space-related capability they are at.
"The interesting thing about Space Force [and] Space Command in terms of military operations is our partners and allies are in different places in their own journey; and we can engage with those partners where they're at, and really kind of bring them along," Mastalir said.
He explained how the Space Force is making progress with its partners and allies in Asia, with U.S. Space Forces Korea having been activated in December of 2022 and plans to activate U.S. Space Forces Japan by the end of the calendar year.
"Having the [U.S. Space Forces Korea] component really allows a tighter integration with the other components and U.S. Forces Korea," Mastalir said. "And we're going to put the same construct in Japan when we activate," he added.
Mastalir said that having Space Force components in both South Korea and [soon] Japan helps drive integration not just with other U.S. military components, but also with host nation militaries.
"As [South Korea and Japan] build their [space] capabilities, having a [Space Force] component right there in country — working with them [and] having them exercise with us — is really great [for] awareness of how they might consider building [space] capabilities so that they can integrate across the joint force," Mastalir said.
Touching again on the U.S. military's efforts to shift from bilateral to more multilateral exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, Mastalir said that partner and ally countries also have a vested interest in protecting the rules-based international order.
"All of those nations — and Japan and South Korea specifically — [when you] think about where they were in terms of their own development as a nation at the conclusion of World War II, and where they are today … it's absolutely amazing," Mastalir said.
"So, they of course have a vested interest in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. Absolutely."