The chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has called for Korea and the United States to continue to strengthen their combined defense posture in the new year to send a "clear message" to adversaries on the cost of aggression. Adm. Samuel Paparo Jr. made the call in a New Year's message as Washington has urged Seoul and other regional allies to contribute to safeguarding the First Island Chain, a key perimeter for America's preeminence against China in the region. "We must also continue to build a formidable, combined defense, sending a clear message to any adversary that the cost of aggression would be far too great," Paparo said in the message released through the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA). The remarks by the top INDOPACOM official came after Beijing mobilized Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force personnel in the Taiwan Strait and other areas surrounding Taiwan earlier this week, in what the Chinese military described as a "stern" warning against "separatist forces" and "external interference." In response, the U.S. State