It was purely a preventative measure against the real existence of laser weapons, by pretending to take a step back first.
After all, such an act came at no cost.
The retreat mentioned at the press conference was just lip service to show attitude, real actions would definitely wait until the investigation results were out to confirm the reality of the laser weapons, and then be implemented on a large scale alongside other policies.
Even if the investigation eventually found the laser weapons to be a hoax.
The words spoken at the conference were just talk, many of which could be retracted at any time as hot air, and most of the promises would not even be acted upon.
Holding a press conference came with no loss, the real major military deployments, information and public opinion wars, and the seeking of strategic partner strategies had not even started; it was just a training against a hypothetical enemy.
