Army Plans to Expand Asian Cyber Efforts to Counter China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Army plans to deploy two specialized task forces to the Pacific capable of conducting information, electronic, cyber and missile operations against Beijing, a Pentagon official said on Friday.

The task forces were slated to deploy over the next two years, U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said at an event brook.gs/39VM3fS in Washington.

The units, called Multi-Domain Task Forces, would help neutralize some capabilities China and Russia already possess. The units would potentially be equipped with long range precision weapons, hypersonic missiles, precision strike missiles, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities, McCarthy said, without citing any locations.

“China has been miniaturizing the global commons,” he said, referring to China’s fortification of small islands in the South China Sea.

“Nothing comes close to the effects of boots on the ground, standing shoulder to shoulder with our counterparts, huddled over plans, or walking through jungles together,” he added.