Hawaii, May 4 -- New United States Indo-Pacific Command (USIndopacom) chief Admiral Samuel Paparo has cited China's "grey zone activities" as acts the US must be ready to answer.

Paparo's statement came right after he replaced Admiral John Aquilino as US Indopacom commander during a change of command ceremony presided by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in the Hawaiian island of Oahu on May 3 (Hawaii time).

"Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its rapid build-up of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC's increasingly intrusive and expansionist claims in the Indo-Pacific region," Paparo said.

"Some call it the grey zone...