WHAT’S IN A NAME? Pentagon Rebrands PACOM as ‘Indo-Pacific Command.’

“In recognition of the increasing connectivity of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, today we rename the U.S. Pacific Command to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,” Mattis said Wednesday at the command’s headquarters in Honolulu. “Over many decades, this command has repeatedly adapted to changing circumstances, and today that carries that legacy forward as America focuses west.”

For weeks, Mattis had occasionally referred to the Far East as the “Indo-Pacific” region. Speculation about the name change heated up a week ago when one reporter publicly inquired about it at the Pentagon. Mattis made it official at the change-of-command ceremony in which Adm. Harry Harris turned PACOM over to Adm. Phil Davidson.

Under the U.S. military’s scheme for dividing the globe into six geographic combatant commands, India was already part of Pacific Command. No personnel or assets are being moved as part of the change.

The name change is more than mere branding. As China continues to install more anti-ship/anti-aircraft missiles along their own coast and in the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean takes on new importance. In the event of a shooting war, the US Navy will have a much easier time sinking Chinese shipping there than closer to the Chinese Mainland/SCS.