Former official urges broader Indo-Pacific command

April 23, 2026

Summary

David Stilwell said Indo-Pacific Command should cover all of China’s borders to expand U.S. options on China’s western frontier.

Why this matters

The proposal reflects a broader debate over how the United States organizes its military commands to address China’s regional influence. It also highlights how officials and former officials view tensions on China’s western border as part of U.S. strategic competition with Beijing.

Retired Air Force Gen. David Stilwell said Tuesday that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility should be expanded to include all of China’s borders, arguing that would give the command more options along China’s western frontier.

“We need to redraw that map so there is no [Central Command] on China’s western border,” Stilwell said during a panel discussion held by Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based foreign policy think tank focused on security, political, and economic issues in the Indo-Pacific.

Stilwell, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2019 to 2021, appeared with Kelly Magsamen, chief of staff to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2024.

“We redesign it so the commander of INDOPACOM has ways of affecting Chinese interest on its western border, where it’s weak,” Stilwell said.

Stilwell said the current command structure was built around the Soviet threat and “is no longer relevant.” He criticized U.S. Central Command’s position on China’s western border, saying: “The fact that CENTCOM sits on China’s western border and is thinking about ways they can cooperate with China on counterterror is just shocking. I mean, are they not reading the headlines today?” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, which President Donald Trump designated as genocide during his first term.

Stilwell previously commented that a counterterrorism-focused command could not effectively use tensions within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose members include Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran, among others. He said China created the group as a collective security mechanism on its western flank, but said tensions involving India and Pakistan, and China and India, limited its cohesion. Military power alone would not be enough to take advantage of those divisions, he said.

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Retired Air Force Gen. David Stilwell said Tuesday that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility should be expanded to include all of China’s borders, arguing that would give the command more options along China’s western frontier.

“We need to redraw that map so there is no [Central Command] on China’s western border,” Stilwell said during a panel discussion held by Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based foreign policy think tank focused on security, political, and economic issues in the Indo-Pacific.

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“We redesign it so the commander of INDOPACOM has ways of affecting Chinese interest on its western border, where it’s weak,” Stilwell said.

Stilwell said the current command structure was built around the Soviet threat and “is no longer relevant.” He criticized U.S. Central Command’s position on China’s western border, saying: “The fact that CENTCOM sits on China’s western border and is thinking about ways they can cooperate with China on counterterror is just shocking. I mean, are they not reading the headlines today?” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, which President Donald Trump designated as genocide during his first term.

Stilwell previously commented that a counterterrorism-focused command could not effectively use tensions within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose members include Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran, among others. He said China created the group as a collective security mechanism on its western flank, but said tensions involving India and Pakistan, and China and India, limited its cohesion. Military power alone would not be enough to take advantage of those divisions, he said.
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