Observing that China has demonstrated increased military competence and a willingness to take risks, a top Pentagon official said Beijing has adopted a more coercive and aggressive approach to the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing has demonstrated increased military competence and a willingness to take risks, and it has adopted a more coercive and aggressive approach to the Indo-Pacific region, Dr Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense, said in her address to the National War College faculty and students on Friday.