ANDREW GREENE: US Indo-Pacific commander Samuel Paparo visits Canberra, warns US needs more naval power

The top military commander for the United States in the Indo-Pacific has flown into Canberra for high-level talks just days after warning his nation needs more naval firepower in the region to match an “increasingly aggressive” China.

Sources have told The Nightly that Admiral Samuel Paparo, who is soon due to finish up as the Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) in Hawaii, flew into Australia on Sunday from Fiji.

His visit comes just days after a representative of INDOPACOM told a closed-door defence gathering in Canberra that Australia should give “early” notice if it won’t support future US military operations.

Last month, Admiral Paparo told Congress that the US needed to “supercharge” the production of ships, weaponry and other equipment to deter Chinese aggression in the region.

“I don’t have enough amphibious ships. We don’t have enough surface destroyers. We certainly don’t have enough attack submarines, and our trajectory is on the wrong side,” Admiral Paparo told the committee.

The head of INDOPACOM also declared a US victory in the war with Iran would help deter a Chinese military assault on Taiwan, while urging the Pentagon and defence contractors to speed up the development and deployment of arms to deter Beijing.

“What I want the [People’s Republic of China] to see is that the United States employs capability and will in response to aggression, and I don’t want them to doubt that in any way, and that supports deterrence, and deterrence is our highest duty,” the admiral said.

As part of his unannounced visit to Canberra, Admiral Paparo will hold talks with Defence Minister Richard Marles and is later expected to take part in a private roundtable event with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

During April’s testimony to Congress, the admiral also gave an upbeat assessment about upgrade work at Western Australia’s HMAS Stirling base, where American and British nuclear-powered submarines will begin AUKUS rotations from next year.

Responding to a question from key AUKUS supporter and Democratic Congressman Joe Courtney, Admiral Paparo said that HMAS Stirling was “on track for the rotational force that will arrive here in Perth in a little over a year.”

“We could be ready today to operate a submarine squadron – a rotational submarine squadron – out of Australia tomorrow,” he said. “The Australian submariners are performing well on the ships. They’re performing well in the schools. Extremely well.

Questioned by Democratic senator Tim Kaine, the Admiral again stressed that the major constraint on the $368 security partnership was the industrial capacity of the three countries involved: the US, Australia and the UK.

“The place where we have to make the most progress is in the defence industrial base, but our partners in Australia, UK … it has been full throttle. It’s now as much up to industry as anything else.”