According to US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, US Navy is prepared to go in ‘no-go missile areas’ at the coastlines of China and Russia and “stay there for as long as necessary.”
Adm. John M. Richardson (Photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The US Navy is ready to conduct military operations in ‘no-go missile areas’, which can be found at the coastlines of China and Russia, US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, said on Tuesday during remarks, made at the US Naval Institute – CSIS Maritime Security Dialogue.
Richardson noted that from now on the term ‘A2/AD’ (anti-access/area denial) is being ‘scaled down’ from the US Navy’s communications.
According to the Admiral, earlier, these areas were “an impenetrable keep out zone that forces can only enter at extreme peril to their existence, let alone their mission.”
“It’s a term bandied about pretty freely and lacks the precise definition it probably would benefit from, and that ambiguity sends a variety of signals,” he said. “We’ll no longer use the term A2/AD as a stand-alone acronym [sic] that can mean all things to all people or anything to anyone – we have to be better than that.”
“Since different theaters present unique challenges, a ‘one size fits all’ term to describe the mission and the challenge creates confusion, not clarity. Instead, we will talk in specifics about our strategies and capabilities relative to those of our potential adversaries, within the specific context of geography, concepts, and technologies,” he added.
As the US Admiral noted, the real state of things, which is “far more complex” than lines on the map, is simplified by the current understanding of the term.
The lines are used to mark zones, showing the limits of missile defense systems’ ranges. If an aircraft or an aircraft carrier crossed the lines, it would risk to be destroyed. The most part of these zones is located on China’s and Russia’s coastlines.
According to the words of Richardson, the US is preparing to take a risk to increase their presence in the ‘no-go zones’.
“It’s actually really hard to achieve a hit. It requires the completion of a really complex chain of events. The threats they are based on are not insurmountable, and can be managed, will be managed,” he said. “Have no doubt, the US Navy is prepared to go wherever it needs to go, at any time, and stay there for as long as necessary in response to our leadership’s call to project our strategic influence,” the Admiral concluded.
