In 2010, the People’s Liberation Army Navy began operating at a greater pace and further afield than in any time in their recent history, which prompted the U.S. Navy to pour more assets into the Western Pacific, Bryan Clark, a naval analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and former aide to retired former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, told USNI News.
“It’s mostly because you’re dealing with North Korea, China, South China Sea – all these new demands are increasing the emphasis on naval forces out there,” he said.
“In 2010, that’s when China started to flex its muscles in the maritime. 2011 is when they started this island-building campaign.”
As part of the U.S. response, the Navy’s Forward-Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) in Japan was tasked more for presence operations and ballistic missile defense missions with an eye toward North Korea, Clark said.