Key Pentagon departure as top Asia policy official resigning

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says its top Asia policy official is resigning after two years in the job.

The top Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, told reporters Thursday that Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs since January 2018, confirmed to him that he is leaving the job.

Hoffman did not offer a specific reason for Schriver’s decision to resign, but suggested that the requirement for frequent travel to and from Asia had become a personal burden for Schriver. Hoffman said Schriver brought “unmatched” expertise on Asia policy.

Schriver, a former Navy intelligence officer, had been the Pentagon’s representative in U.S. nuclear diplomacy with North Korea in 2018. His position as head of Asia policy for the Pentagon has taken on added importance as the Trump administration tries to shift its strategic focus from the insurgent wars of the past two decades to competing more directly with a rising China.