U.S. Army Pacific Commanding General Ronald Clark

Asia Pacific Media Hub

MODERATOR:  Greetings from the U.S. Department of State’s Asia Pacific Media Hub.  I would like to welcome journalists to today’s on-the-record briefing with U.S. Army Pacific Commanding General, General Ronald Clark.  General Clark will discuss the U.S. Army’s upcoming Land Forces Pacific Symposium, LANPAC, taking place May 13th through 15th, 2025.   

LANPAC 2025 will bring together representatives from 31 Indo-Pacific nations, including at least 11 chiefs of armies, to address critical security challenges, the U.S. Army’s commitment to security cooperation with our allies and partners, and how to solve complex challenges in the region with members of academia and industry.  This year’s theme focuses on prevailing through land power.   

With that, let’s get started.  General Clark, I’ll turn it over to you for your opening remarks. 

GENERAL CLARK:  Natalie, thanks, and it’s an honor to be here with you today, and thank you for everyone who’s in this session for taking your time today to hear a little bit about LANPAC.  So I’d like to open with some brief context about Land Forces Pacific Symposium, also known as LANPAC.  And as Natalie said, it’ll take place here in Hawaii next week, 13 to 15 May.  To make a small correction on the great introduction she gave to the conference, we’re actually going to have 32 delegations here from different nations, with 16 chiefs of army represented here during the – during the symposium.  

The first I’d like to talk about in the context of LANPAC is it comes on the heels of our Secretary of Defense’s recent visit to the Indo-Pacific, where he spoke frequently about how the United States maintains steadfast commitments to our allies and partners in the region.  He also added that we view allies and partners as force multipliers, and the whole goal of this is that we want stronger and more resilient partnerships and a network of partnerships, not less, going forward.  Less does not deter.  He reaffirmed our historic commitments to our partners and allies across the region, which, again, was music to the ears of a number of our partners here in the Indo-Pacific.   

Secondly, this is about your theater Army in the Pacific – the United States Army Pacific – and how we operationalize deterrence.  We campaign forward throughout the region for the purpose of preventing war.  This is all about our ability to prevent war by building necessary capacity and interoperability with our partners and allies in the region.  We also do this by deterring while transforming.  Now, we’re essentially undergoing a transformation in contact in the United States Army, where we’re right now in the process of making our formations more mobile, more lethal, and more survivable and more resilient, by increasing the lethality of our soldiers and giving them capabilities that they can use right now in time and space to be able to deter our adversaries.  

And then lastly, LANPAC will take place here, and it’s a visible symbol of strength of the strategic land power network.  We’ll host allies and partners, again, from across the region as we do that, and it’ll demonstrate the strength of those partnerships – again, the attendance this year is outstanding, and we really look forward to discussing LANPAC with you as a part of this conversation.   

Thanks, Natalie.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  We’ll now turn it over to the question-and-answer portion of today’s briefing.  So we’ll kick this off with a question that we received in advance from David Rising of AP, based in Bangkok:  “With the change in administrations, has there been any shift in the U.S. so-called ‘pivot to Asia’ and if so, how does the U.S. assess the importance of the Indo-Pacific now?” 

GENERAL CLARK:  Now, that’s a great question.  As we think about the commitments of the United States, specifically the United States Army, to the Pacific, first I’d like to offer that it’s all about the strategic land power network for us.  It’s about people – and it’s never been stronger.  So the human-to-human interaction, the procedural interaction and our ability to be able to have technical interaction with our partners and allies across the region – essentially, interoperability – is the key for us.   

So our ability to be able to work together through our interpersonal contact, by proximity through campaigning as we conduct a series of operations, activities, and investments across the theater, it gives us an opportunity to get to know our teammates across the region.  For instance, some of the army chiefs who are going to attend in this case, we’ve already had longstanding relationships and have spent time together through operational deployments and then just a number of times that I’ve been assigned in this region, which this is my third assignment inside of U.S. Army Pacific or U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.  So with 30 – 32 delegations attending, focusing on prevailing through land power, that’s really what this is about.   

We’re going to focus on partnerships, and in that the Secretary of Defense reaffirmed the importance of our partnerships, and it’s with regional allies, our joint partners, our partners in industry who are developing technologies that we are putting in the hands of warfighters; our state and local government partners, where we have a number of our soldiers and families stationed at mobilization force generation installations across the Pacific; our institutional partners through academia to help us better understand the challenges and opportunities across the Pacific; and then our leaders inside of our own formations – our officers, noncommissioned officers, our family members and retired leaders, who stay connected with us and are a part of, as we say in Hawaii, our ohana.  And all of that is so that we can prevail. 

Admiral Paparo will open up our conference here at LANPAC with the first keynote to really emphasize the strong joint and multinational partnerships that are in place here in the Indo-Pacific.  And I agree with you; I mean, it’s a difficult challenge to build those relationships at scale unless you build them on a bedrock of trust.  So I’m proud to continue to build that, and we’re going to do it through our partnerships together at LANPAC. 

MODERATOR:  The next question will go to Anthony Kuhn.  I see your hand is raised.  You may unmute.   

QUESTION:  Hi.  General Clark, thanks for joining us.  Can you hear me?   

GENERAL CLARK:  I can, Anthony.  Thank you.  

QUESTION:  Okay.  I’m calling from Seoul, and as you may be aware, the topic of strategic flexibility is a big topic of discussion here.  So I’m wondering, what are your aims for this?  Are you planning to further the consensus with the South Korean side?  Are you planning to increase training for U.S. Forces Korea to operate in other environments in the Pacific?  Where do you – what do you hope to achieve in increasing strategic flexibility?    

GENERAL CLARK:  Anthony, thank you for that question.  I was just in the Republic of Korea a couple of weeks ago, where I had a great opportunity to interact with a number of our teammates there.  As you well know, we have over 22,000 soldiers assigned to the Republic of Korea, and they literally have the responsibility to fight tonight.  I talk with the U.S. Forces Korea commander, General Xavier Brunson, almost daily – just, again, part of our relationship; we’ve grown together in the Army, and to have him as a teammate, to serve shoulder to shoulder in the Republic of Korea in that very challenging environment is phenomenal.   

So, again, we are focused on the strength of the alliance.  It’s ironclad.  Our ability to be able to provide deterrent options through my responsibilities as the Title 10 commander of the Army Service Component Command in the Indo-Pacific that provides the forces to General Brunson in a contingency is exactly where we want to spend our time and energy.  And it’s a great relationship and partnership.  That force on pen is ready, and those forces on pen continue to train and focus on their own lethality and survivability every day. 

I was able to visit a wet-gap crossing with the Second Infantry Division commander, Major General Chuck Lombardo.  I was able to watch our soldiers continue to sharpen their skills at the tip of the spear through expert soldier badge and expert infantryman’s badge and an expert field medical badge training while we were there, alongside our ROK counterparts in training, to work on individual-level skills that they’ll then build into collective-level skills that, again, are about the business of being ready to fight tonight.  

So I am very confident in the efforts and abilities and readiness of those formations based on my own opinion and my own assessment of their excellent training and their will to improve every day, which is really what this is about.  So, Anthony, thank you.  

MODERATOR:  Okay, and the next question is from Hannah Nero, from The National newspaper, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea:  “What are some of the complex security challenges within this region from your perspective?  What do you think will be the best way for countries involved to better partner to solve these challenges?  Is there a real threat?  If so, where?” 

GENERAL CLARK:  Again, great question.  I would offer that there are not just challenges, but there are also opportunities.  And it all goes back to our ability to build partnerships on the back of – on the basis of trust.  So specific to Papua New Guinea, we recently concluded an exercise there where one of my deputy commanding generals was able to – Lance Okamura, Major General Lance Okamura was in Port Moresby and was able to think and work through a number of challenges with the armed forces leadership there in Papua New Guinea.  And it’s really back to my point I made earlier about relationships built on trust, and during times of competition versus times of crisis and conflict.   

So what we’ve been seeing across the region is actions by countries that are bullying their neighbors, that continue to engage in territorial disputes that are illegal, that continue to coerce their neighbors in ways that are unhelpful; and what we want to be is a partner of choice, specifically in the security realm because our ability to be able to help our partners understand that there’s another option, an opportunity to partners with both the United States Army in the Pacific and our likeminded partners there as well across the region, is really how we can all be successful in that endeavor across the instruments of national power – diplomatic, informational, military, and economic.  The thing that we can do, things that we can do inside of that military instrument of power sometimes bridge capabilities that only we can provide in places that we can provide them.  

So to be able to provide medical capability, to be able to provide engineering capability and construction, to be able to assist during times of natural disasters.  As you all know, in Papua New Guinea, this region is more prone to natural disasters than any other place in the world.  Six out of 10 largest natural disasters in history have occurred literally in the Ring of Fire.   

So our ability to be in position to help our partners, allies, friends across the region is super important.  So to be in Port Moresby with our deputy commanding general for our National Guard and Reserve affairs, and homeland defense, is key.  And he brought back some tremendous experiences and information to help us to understand and partner much better with the military forces in Papua New Guinea.   

MODERATOR:  Okay, the next question will go to Colin Clark.  You have your hand raised.  You may unmute.   

QUESTION:  Hi, General.  Colin Clark of Breaking Defense here.  I am asking about Talisman Sabre last time, when you guys tried out the Combined Joint Network Operations Security Center, CJ-NOSC.  And I’m checking up:  Do you expect to use a new version of this at the upcoming Talisman Sabre?  And how promising does this approach look?  

GENERAL CLARK:  Colin, again, thanks for your interest in that exercise.  What I’d like to focus on rather than an operating system is how we plan to increase our ability to be interoperable across all the warfighting functions, all the seven joint functions.  And in this case with Talisman Sabre, we are deploying some capability into this exercise that we have never deployed to Australia before.  So the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force alongside of the Australian 10th Brigade is going to conduct some significant live fire activity with long-range precision fires in a way that we just haven’t done before with the Australian Defence Force.   

So we’re really excited about that opportunity just based on, again, our ability to work on these things in times of relative peace and during competition.  So as you follow the Australian Defence Force, you know we worked together side by side in exercise Yama Sakura with the Japanese earlier this year.  You know that we’ve also partnered with them during multiple exercises – Cobra Gold, Talisman – or Hanuman Guardian.  So now we’re operating with them side by side during exercise Unified Pacific, which just concluded on Friday, to again work through our ability to be able to work both technically and procedurally on a number of activities that we’re going go try to test live during Talisman Sabre.   

So just, again, the Australian expanses of territory will make that a bit of a challenge.  Again, it’s our ability to be able to communicate at scale and to be able to pass target quality data back and forth that’s really going to be tested during this exercise.  And I’m very optimistic about how that’s going to work.  Which specific systems we’re going to work through together, again, it’s something that we’re continuing to work through as we modernize our networks.  The ADF is doing the same thing.  And again, part of our ability to be able to transform our force in contact is that what we can’t afford to do is to leave our partners and allies behind.  So we have essentially transformed ourselves out of being able to talk, to communicate, to share information, intelligence, et cetera, with our partners and allies because we’ve chosen a path that doesn’t allow us to go together forward in modernization.  

MODERATOR:  Next question is from Napat Kongsawad from NHK, based in Bangkok, Thailand:  “With increased U.S. presence in APAC, are regional exercises like Cobra Gold up for expansion or consolidation?  Would the U.S. Army rule out equipping other allied or partner nations with mid-range or long-range strike capabilities like in the Philippines?” 

GENERAL CLARK:  Napat, thank you for that question.  I happened to be in Thailand for Cobra Gold this year, for the opening ceremonies – 30 nations involved, the 44th iteration of Cobra Gold, longest-standing exercise on the Asian continent.  Phenomenal opportunity across a number of smaller exercises to work through, again, interoperability.   

I’m not going to comment on the future employment of capabilities, but what I will say is that the MRC is – the mid-range capability – is one of a suite of capabilities that allows us to on and from the land affect threats in the air and maritime domain.   

Thailand, as you know, is a treaty ally.  We will continue to work together shoulder to shoulder to develop capabilities that allow us to prevent war, to deter our adversaries from taking any action or activity that would cause us to go deeper into crisis.  So both the will and capability to deploy those assets is the key to deterrence, and we plan to do that whenever possible in order to ensure that we prevent war.  

MODERATOR:  Okay, the next question will go to Gabriel Dominguez.  Your hand is raised.  Please unmute and ask your question.   

QUESTION:  Thank you so much, General, for speaking to us.  In a writing published last month, you wrote that you would deploy and employ a U.S. Army cutting-edge, multi-domain task force to Japan.  What are your plans, exactly, for Japan?  Which units would you deploy?  What would be their role there in Japan?  Could you please tell us more about this and your plans for Japan?  

GENERAL CLARK:  Well, Gabriel, as you know, Japan is also a treaty ally.  The multi-domain task forces have exquisite capabilities across a number of domains.  Really, the focus of the MDTFs – and not just in their employment or deployment to Japan – is to combine those capabilities to challenge China’s anti-access/area denial network.  So our ability to be able to synchronize in time and space, long-range precision fires, cyber capability, space capability, and information operations in order to penetrate and neutralize an A2/AD threat is important.   

Our ability to be able to use those same capabilities from the MDTFs in a way that’s dispersed, easily camouflaged, and allows us to be able to be distributed so that we can’t be targeted in one time and place is key to success.   

So our opportunity to deploy those capabilities really across the region is something that we look forward to continuing to do.  However, what we’re really looking forward to is the opportunity to continue to discuss those capabilities at LANPAC, specifically the two multi-domain task forces that are currently in the Indo-Pacific – the First MDTF, which is based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, and the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force, which is headquartered here in Hawaii.  The commanders of both those formations are going to be involved in LANPAC at Commanders Corner and be available to answer any specific questions you may have about the capabilities they bring to bear within, obviously, a certain level of classification.  

But I would highly recommend that any of the personnel that are on this particular net and in this conversation come to LANPAC.  Have an opportunity to meet with our amazing teammates who are really bringing these capabilities to life.  It’s their ability to be able to – it’s not about the capability itself, but their ability to employ it in a way that’s exquisite as well given their talents.  That’s super important.  So thanks.  

MODERATOR:  Okay, we’ll go to Arvind Jayaram from The Straits Times.  Can you please unmute and ask your question?  Okay, I see Arvind might have dropped.  Arvind, are you there?  Can you unmute and ask your question? 

QUESTION:  Hello, can you hear me?  

GENERAL CLARK:  Yes, I can hear you.  

MODERATOR:  Yes. 

QUESTION:  Hello.  Hi.  Sorry about that.  There was no unmute option.  Sorry.  I’ll just proceed.  Thank you, General.  Sir, I just had a couple of quick questions.   

One, China recently occupied a sandbank in the South China Sea that’s also claimed by the Philippines.  The White House said that it is consulting closely with its partners and that the reports are deeply concerning, if true.  Could you please comment on this, sir?  And what kind of response can we see – expect to see from the U.S., a major ally of the Philippines?  

And the second quick question, sir:  India has launched missile strikes on Pakistan this morning.  There are reports of nine targets being hit.  Can you offer the U.S. view of the developing situation, please?  Thank you.  

GENERAL CLARK:  Well, Arvind, I’ll start with your second question and just say that it’s – right now it’s too early to opine on any of that.  We’re watching the situation very closely.  We’re nested with our higher headquarters and USINDOPACOM as the information about these strikes becomes more clear.  So again, it’s a bit early to opine on what we actually think is happening right now in that situation. 

But I will add that we are a treaty ally with the Philippines as well, and we are committed as an ally to continue to work with them to ensure the sovereignty of the Philippines. We have worked very closely with them really day-to-day to work through allowing for the dialogue necessary and the coordination necessary and interoperability between the Philippine Armed Forces and our own to work through some of the challenges associated with some of the claims being made on their sovereign territory.  

So in LANPAC my counterpart, Lieutenant General Roy Galido, who I’ve met with multiple times in the first six months I’ve been in this job, is a trusted partner. He’ll be here at LANPAC.  He and I are sitting one of the panel discussions together about prevailing through land power, and we’ll also conduct a bilat and our land forces dialogue with Australian Defence Force – or the Australian army chief and the chief of the Japanese Defense Force. 

Again, this is Philippine sovereign territory.  I’m not going to speak for the Government of Philippines and what actions they may take in this case, but again, as a treaty ally we stand shoulder to shoulder with them as they work through challenges to not just features in the South China Sea but their sovereign territory writ large. 

MODERATOR:  Okay, I think we have time for one, maybe two more questions.  We’ll turn to Damien Cave.  Your hand is raised.  Please unmute and pose your question. 

QUESTION:  Hi, General.  Thanks for taking questions here.  Many U.S. partners in the region are concerned that their economies are going to be hurt by U.S. actions on trade even as they’re being asked to do more with the U.S. on defense.  I’m curious how that affects the effort to be the partner of choice, and I’m wondering if you could characterize what, if anything, is new about how the U.S. is dealing with partners in the region now compared to a year or two ago.  Is there anything new or different or expanded that wasn’t there before that in part reflects this kind of dynamic between the economic side and the defense side?  In some cases, for a lot of partners, it looks pretty divided – the U.S. position.  

GENERAL CLARK:  Well, Damien, thanks for the question.  I would offer that it’s the military-to-military ties that allow us to overcome some of the other challenges we may have in government-to-government coordination or policy or diplomacy.  Those relationships built on trust through our ability to be able to work together is very, very important.   

So as we think about how things have changed in a positive way, I am encouraged by, again, the opportunity to spend time with partners and allies at LANPAC.  Our ability to be able to sit and work together and to talk through the challenges we’re all experiencing and work together on some solutions that are achievable is very, very important.  And I was stationed here at USARPAC headquarters as the chief of staff, at the 25th Infantry Division as the division commander, and then followed that assignment with time as the chief of staff at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.  So to return to the theater three years removed from my previous assignment here, I am very encouraged by the level of partnership, the level of mateship, the opportunity to be able to work together, because some of the challenges posed across the theater by aggressors are actually pulling likeminded nations together in a way that we had not seen before. 

So to be able to work on that together with our partners and allies during LANPAC and continue to strengthen those ties of the strategic land power network, to be able to work together on material solutions with some of our industry partners that will be here as a part of the LANPAC Symposium, to be able to work with academia to understand at greater depth some of the challenges in areas that affect military operations is going to be very, very important.  So again, I’d offer that for anybody that’s listening in this media hub, come to LANPAC, spend some time having meaningful conversations not just with U.S. Army Pacific but with our allies and partners from across the region who will be here to share in the symposium with us.  

MODERATOR:  Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for today.  Thank you for your questions and thank you to General Clark for joining us.  We will provide a transcript of this briefing to participating journalists as soon as it is available.  We’d also love to hear your feedback, and you can contact us at any time at AsiaPacMedia@state.gov.  Thanks again for your participation and we hope you can join us for another briefing soon. 

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