Analysis: US Army Forms New Rotational Force in Philippines｜TaiwanPlus News

The U.S. Army has reportedly set up a rotational force in the Philippines. Defense outlet USNI News reported that the Army Rotational Force Philippines was revealed for the first time last week. The move follows the launch of Task Force Philippines in October by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth. The increased coordination between Washington and Manila comes in response to China's actions in the South China Sea and growing concerns of a potential Taiwan Strait incident. To learn more, our reporter Alan Lu spoke with Professor Renato DiCastro of De La Salle University to discuss what this means for security in the region. Reports show the U.S. has formed an Army Rotational Force in the Philippines. What do you think is the strategic significance of this in terms of the Philippines-U.S. cooperation? Well, that's part of what Secretary Pete Hexeth said when he visited Manila last March of strengthening the deterrence capability of the Philippine-U.S. alliance. You have last November, last year, when you have the creation of what you call Task Force Philippines, where you have, of course, a composite unit of all American armed services deploying, of course, their headquarters here in the Philippines. Now, of course, you have the Army, the United States Army, increasing its strategic footprint here in the Philippines. Recently, we've seen the U.S. has adjusted its military posture across the Indo-Pacific region to better counter growing military threats from China, and that includes adjusting forces in both South Korea and the Philippines. What do you think is the broader goal behind all these changes? Well, the broader goal here, of course, is in terms of strengthening deterrence here, as mentioned in the 2025 National Security Strategy, which came out last November, about the importance of the first island chain and, of course, strengthening deterrence capability. Then, of course, followed by the National Defense Strategy of the United States Department of We have to share the burden, you know, defending ourselves and, of course, increasing the deterrence capability of our alliance, especially in the case of the Philippines and Japan, and, of course, the Republic of South Korea in terms of their alliance, our alliances with the United States. Do you see the formation of this new rotational force as part of the preparation for a potential Taiwan Strait contingency? We want, basically, to balance China on the basis of strength, meaning deterrence capability, what you have available at a given point in time. Now, of course, you have literally putting United States Army ground forces on possible, you know, preparation for a contingency in the first island chain. That was Renato Di Castro, a professor at De La Salle University.