During 'Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium held in Aurora (USA) on 13 February, Brig. gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, took part in a high-level international panel along with three other experts. The event attracted the attention of over 4.000 participants and focused on the crucial challenge of countering both current and future air and space threats, looming over the Indo-Pacific region.
Mastalir highlighted the fundamental role that the Space Force plays in ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains a free and open region, upholding a rules-based international order that he says has contributed to nearly 80 years of prosperity for the nations that join it.
He then underlined the importance of countering hostile space operations and actively promoting them counterspace operations, underlining the essentiality of close collaboration with allies and partners of the United States.
The panel saw the participation of key figures such as Col. David J. Berkland ofUS Air Force, the col. Sugiyama Kimitoshi of Japan Air Self Defense Force and Col. Jongseo Park of Republic of Korea Air Force. This diverse representation underlined the unanimous belief in the importance of multilateral cooperation, especially in a complex strategic context such as that of the Indo-Pacific.
Mastalir emphasized the importance ofjoint training between partner nations, citing as an example the "Keen Edge" exercise, an annual initiative that emphasizes military interoperability and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, highlighting how "space superiority" can be decisive in a conflict.
In conclusion, Mastalir reiterated the importance of the rules-based international order to ensure peace and stability in the region and underlined how "space superiority" is indispensable not only to ensure allied forces have access to space capabilities but also to deny the adversary the use of such capabilities, thus protecting the combined forces from space-enabled attacks.
Photo: US Air Force
