by 2020 is in 8 years. if they wanted to they could shift "the majority" of their surface assets in a few months.
so, this is a posture, and this posture is dependent on there being no more major demands in the mediterranear/persian gulf region by that time, which could be the case if Iran is dealt with sooner rather than later. But in any case the intended recipients of this posture-message are those asia-pacific nations who currently are having to deal with the rising china, as well as china itself, and is mainly part of a concerted diplomatic strategy of persuading all those nations who feel china's influence keenest (vietnam, phillipines, japan, s.korea, burma(!!), indonesia, taiwan..australia even!) that the US is coming over real soon, and that it is too soon to be revising your international relationships in a pro-china manner.
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"Enemy submarines are to be called U-Boats. The term submarine is to be reserved for Allied under water vessels. U-Boats are those dastardly villains who sink our ships, while submarines are those gallant and noble craft which sink theirs." Winston Churchill
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