Summary: Distinguished military leaders gathered at the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium to discuss the critical role of positional advantage, interoperability, and partnerships in maintaining security and deterring conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, served as the moderator for this panel. Panelists included Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Gen. Yasunori Morishita, Chief of Staff, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, Chief of the Philippine Army, and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, Chief of Army – Australia.
The panel explored a range of topics including leveraging key terrain and understanding the human domain, to building comprehensive and reciprocal relationships, and adapting to emerging threats in the multi-domain battlespace. Panelists emphasized the need for a holistic strategy that integrates tactical proficiency, technological advancement, and the well-being of service members and their families.
Themes and Messages:
Positional Advantage as Key to Deterrence: Gaining positional advantage on key terrain, both physical and human, is essential for deterring conflict and preventing war.
Interoperability as a Force Multiplier: Enhancing interoperability through human interaction, technical capabilities, and procedural alignment is critical for maximizing the effectiveness of combined forces.
Partnerships as a Strategic Imperative: Building strong and enduring partnerships based on shared values and mutual interests is essential for maintaining regional security.
Multi-Domain Operations: The panel emphasized the need to think beyond physical terrain and consider positional advantage in the human, digital, ethical, and moral domains.
Continuous Adaptation: The panelists stressed the importance of continuous adaptation and transformation in response to evolving threats and technological advancements.
The Value Proposition of Land Power: Lt. Gen. Stuart touched on five key characteristics that define the value of land power in the Indo-Pacific: presence, persistence, asymmetry, versatility, and return on investment.
Challenges to Information Sharing: The panelists acknowledged the challenges of information sharing across multi-national and multi-domain operations, citing issues related to policy, protocols, and security classifications.
Key Quotes and Panelist Focus:
Gen. Ronald P. Clark, Commanding General of U.S. Army Pacific, (Moderator):
“At the end of the day, it is about people, and there's no stronger human emotion than the feelings of belonging, especially to something that is transformational, like the service to your country, shoulder to shoulder with your partners and allies in a noble and common mission to prevent war.”
"In our theater, our Army strategy, which we've been talking about the last couple of days, is really about how we leverage, how we capitalize, how we focus on gaining positional advantage on key terrain. That key terrain is not just physical terrain, but also human terrain, because at the instant, at the end state, our ability to gain positional advantage gives us convergence at the joint and combined level of capabilities that focus on deterrence, our ability to be able to prevent war."
JGSDF Gen. Yasunori Morishita, Chief of Staff, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force:
"For Japan, it's very important to prevent invasions, and then same for the Philippines as well...Japan needs to...cooperate with the U.S. and Australia and other partner nations to build the network, and then that is the other way to contribute to the peace and stability in this region."
Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, Chief of the Philippine Army:
"We have to strive for multi-domain position...Armies must now go out of its comfort zone, which is the land, and start adopting all domain mindsets. This does not mean competing with armed services, but rather acquiring an all domain perspective and investing in essential capabilities that would give them substantial cross domain reach."
Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, Chief of Army – Australia:
“The ultimate expression of national will and endeavor, is between our young women and men on the ground among populations in harm's way. That is the primary value of the strategic land power network. Operationally, in order to realize our theory of victory, we need to be continually assessing and updating and changing our campaign approach.”
"The genius in transformation, transforming in contact in force design is that we are presenting asymmetries, meaning things that the adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, have not considered...and so it changes the calculus.”
Q&A Highlights:
Interoperability and Information Sharing: Gen. Yasunori Morishita, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart emphasized the importance of building trust, establishing clear protocols, and leveraging technology to enhance interoperability and information sharing among allies and partners.
Asymmetric Capabilities: Gen. Ronald P. Clark, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart discussed the need to develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities, such as space, counter-space, and electronic warfare, to create multiple dilemmas for potential adversaries.
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