US commanders planning a possible conflict with China are increasingly concerned that the Pentagon will soon need to move long-range precision weapons from stockpiles in the Asia-Pacific region into the Middle East, congressional officials say.
That’s because of the massive munitions used by the US in the Yemen bombing campaign ordered by President Trump.
US preparations in the Pacific have been damaged by the deployment of aircraft into the Pentagon and the Middle East after Yemeni Hooty militia forces began attacking ships in the Red Sea after the Israel-Gaza War began in October 2023, officials say.
American ships and aircraft, and the service members working on them, are pushed against what the military calls a high-operated tempo. Even basic equipment maintenance becomes a problem under those grinding conditions.
Congressional officials who spoke about the issue have conditioned anonymity to speak openly about anonymous military matters.
Lt. Gen. Samuel Paparo, head of the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific Command since May, will almost certainly be asked about the issue of preparation if he is expected to testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
Several Trump aides, including the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, said policy secretary Elbridge Colby, must prioritize strengthening troops in the Asia-Pacific region to stop the US building up its military and nuclear weapons rapidly.
These officials argue that US arms support Ukraine in their defense of decades of military campaigns in Russia, the Middle East and Afghanistan. As Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear enrichment site in the coming months and ignites a wider Middle East war, the Trump administration will almost certainly commit US military resources to the region.
However, the US military is struggling to balance its resources as it blows up Iran-backed Hauch extremists in Yemen.
The New York Times reported last week that it was much bigger than the Pentagon had released. The pentagon ran out about $200 million in ammunition in the first three weeks alone, US officials said. They are much higher when operating and labor costs are taken into consideration, and at this point they are well above $1 billion.
The Pentagon deployed two aircraft carriers, an additional B-2 stealth bombers and fighter jets, and patriots and Thaad air defenses to the Middle East. The B-2 bomber runs long from Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean, where American and British troops are based.
On April 1, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and his escort ships were being pulled out of the Pacific for a Middle Eastern mission.
On Friday, Trump posted aerial video on social media, appearing to show bomb or missile attacks on dozens of people. The president said the attack was on Hooty’s fighter planes. “Oh, there are no attacks by these Hoosis!” he wrote.
However, Pentagon officials, along with allies, lawmakers and their aides, said the US military had limited success in destroying the vast arsenal of missiles, drones and launchers.
Pentagon officials recently told Congressional aides that they were “very concerned” about the speed at which the Navy and Indo-Pacific Command are burning Yemen’s munitions, according to congressional officials.
The Navy’s comprehensive stockpile was far below the target target for President Joseph R. Biden Jr., first President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to attack the Hoosys a year and a half ago.
Senior defense officers told Congressional aides that the Pentagon is now “emerging operational issues” if conflicts in Asia collapse, congressional officials told them.
In response to questions about whether US war plans in the Pacific could suffer due to a lack of available ammunition, Admiral Paparo’s spokesman appeared to be underestimating concerns.
“The US military offers flexible deterrence options to protect US national interests across combatant commands,” spokesman CMDR said. Matthew Comer said, “while always maintaining a ready, capable, deadly force in the Indo-Pacific to provide national defense and respond to contingencies.”
During a trip to Asia two weeks ago, Hegses tried to reassure his allies that the US was committed to stopping the “threat” from China in the region.
Hegses said in Manila, the Philippines’ capital, the Trump administration will “really prioritize and shift to this part of the world in an unprecedented way.”
“Today, it’s the Philippines. Tomorrow, it’s Japan. It’s Australia and South Korea and other countries in this part of the world,” he said.
Long-range weapons used in the Yemen campaign include Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from ships. A type of glide bomb called the AGM-154 joint standoff weapon. And the stealth AGM-158 joint air-to-air standoff missile, US officials say. These are also the kind of weapons that American war planners need to counter the air and naval attacks by the People’s Liberation Army in the South and East China Sea and the Pacific.
The weapons are stocked at US military bases in Guam. Okinawa, Japan. Authorities say. The Pentagon didn’t yet need to soak up their stockpiles to fight the Hoosis, but they say they may need to do so soon.
American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles are also becoming increasingly important to Japan’s military needs. In January 2024, the Japanese Ministry of Defense signed an agreement to purchase 400 Tomahawk missiles. The US commander hopes that Japan, an ally of the US treaty, can use missiles to support the US military in the event of a war with China.
Biden has sought to strengthen military ties and arms sales with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, and prevent China from taking active military action, particularly against Taiwan, a virtually independent island that the Chinese Communist Party aims to bring about its control.
While Chinese leader Xi Jinping talks about the need for China to control Taiwan, he has not publicly stated a clear timeline for doing so. Trump has been cautious about what he will do if China tries to invade or blockade Taiwan. Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk said Taiwan should be under Chinese control, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US opposes unilateral changes to the status quo.
Biden has repeatedly said that US troops will defend Taiwan from major attacks by China.
Taiwan is the biggest flash point in US-China relations and the most likely trigger point for an armed conflict between the two nuclear superpowers.
John Ismail contributed the report.
