“Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DoD,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
"I'm sure our adversaries are looking at this as a way to, I would say put sand in our gears when we're trying to generate combat power," Gen. CQ Brown said.
The jet-powered transport’s speed, survivability and multi-mission agility position it as a viable option to the C-130 for the US and NATO allies.
Gen. Laura Richardson told the Aspen Security Forum she also needs high-profile visitors to "tell them [local officials] and show them how important they are to this region, and to the hemisphere that we all live in," or Beijing would step into the void.
Adm. John Aquilino said the two countries have ramped joint training and exercises and patrols in the Indo-Pacific, suggests potential intel sharing.