U.S. will maintain strong military presence in Indo-Pacific to prevent conflict, says Joe Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the U.S. will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific “not to start conflict, but to prevent one,

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the U.S. will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific “not to start conflict, but to prevent one,” as Beijing made efforts to expand influence in the strategically vital region. In his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, Mr. Biden said he also told Mr. Xi that America welcomes competition but was not looking for conflict. “I told President Xi that we will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europe, not to start conflict, but to prevent conflict,” Mr. Biden said.