The shake-up of the US military leadership is unlikely to change the Trump administration’s strategic focus on China but will leave it with less experience of the region at the top, according to observers.
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US President Donald Trump dismissed six senior military officers on Friday, including Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Charles Brown, the nation’s highest-ranking officer and principal military adviser to the president.
Trump has nominated retired US Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine, a former F-16 fighter pilot, to replace Brown. Caine will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take up the position.
Diao Daming, a professor at the school of international studies at China’s Renmin University, said that changing the joint chiefs chair before time was very unusual and warranted close monitoring by Beijing. Brown’s four-year term was to run until September 2027.
Diao said the selection of Caine, a three-star general, for the position was also extraordinary, because the precedent was for a four-star general to assume the role.
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