WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2020) The United States is expanding its military presence this year in the Western Hemisphere across its Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, SOUTHCOM commander Adm. Craig Faller told reporters at the Defense Department.
"[In] an area the size of the United States, we've been working that zone with six to eight ships," Faller said on Wednesday evening. "It really needs much larger [force]... It will be an all-domain approach. We'll be working it through the rest of this year."
Faller explained the decision to expand military forces in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility was taken in response to the rising level of rival great power activities, especially by Russia, China and Iran and by the growing power of transnational criminal organizations there.
"This really was born out of recognition of increase in threats in the region and how we best respond to those threats. There is great power competition... [There is] a recognition that criminal organizations are eating away at our security and in allied nations," Faller said.
The decision to beef up the US military presence in the region coincided with a regular scheduled combat and command review, Faller added.
