Pentagon leaders said on Thursday that the US military must be ready for a potential confrontation with China, prompting Congress to approve a proposed $842 billion Defense Department budget that would modernize forces in Asia and around the world.
What was said by Lloyd Austin?
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on Defense, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said:
- This is a strategy-driven balancing act — a balancing act driven by the seriousness of our strategic rivalry with the People’s Republic of China.
- The budget proposes spending more than $9 billion, up 40 percent from last year, to build military capabilities in the Pacific and defend allies.
Austin’s testimony follows a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Moscow, amid fears that China will step up support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, which increasingly threatens the West.
Guarantee readiness to fight
Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said:
- China’s behavior is pushing it on the path toward confrontation and potential conflict with its neighbors and perhaps the United States.
- War and preparing for it is very expensive, but it is not as expensive as fighting a war. This budget prevents war and prepares us to fight it if necessary.
- The Department of Defense must continue to modernize its forces to ensure they are ready to fight if necessary.
- Our rates of operational readiness are higher now than they have been in many years.
- More than 60 percent of the active force is currently in a state of maximum readiness and can be deployed to combat in less than 30 days, while 10 percent can be deployed within 96 hours.
Two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have eroded military hardware and troop readiness, so the United States is working to replace weapons systems and give troops time to reset.
