{"id":34207,"date":"2020-10-13T19:18:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T19:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/13\/army-sfab-advisers-will-have-to-share-some-friends-with-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:10:44","slug":"army-sfab-advisers-will-have-to-share-some-friends-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/2020\/10\/13\/army-sfab-advisers-will-have-to-share-some-friends-with-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Army SFAB advisers will have to share some friends with China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Security force assistance brigades<\/a> don\u2019t view the race for military partnerships in Asia as a zero-sum game, SFAB leaders said during a telephone call with reporters Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5th SFAB out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord<\/a>, Washington, is now dedicated to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command<\/a> region, and the unit has already started working with Thai and Indonesian troops from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SFAB advisers are training foreign militaries as part of a Pentagon strategy aimed at courting regional partners. But in Asia, they also expect to be sharing some of those partners with Chinese military trainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that we are in competition with China in every country that we\u2019re going to,\u201d 5th SFAB commander Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor said during the call, part of the Association of the United States Army conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a concerted effort to build mil-to-mil relationships between many of the partners we work with and the PLA [People\u2019s Liberation Army of China],” Taylor added. \u201cWe acknowledge that it\u2019s a natural part of operating in that region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor\u2019s SFAB, which sent 60 soldiers to Thailand in August after activating in May, wants to show countries in Asia that they\u2019re \u201ca valid partner of choice in a dangerous world,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat does not mean we\u2019re demanding that everyone we work with make a choice of us over other neighbors,\u201d Taylor added. \u201cWe recognize that our partners out there, they\u2019re not going to change their neighborhood, and so they have to work with a number of different partners.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advising goes beyond tactical skills and can include areas like intelligence sharing and logistics. SFABs can also teach foreign forces how to better develop their noncommissioned officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t