China's Miltary Build-up

[Adam's Apple]

China's Defense: A Jump in Military Spending Sends a Few Signals
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial
March 14, 2006

China is going through the annual soul-searching occasioned by the opening of the National People's Congress, an event comparable to America's own State of the Union address.

Some of what is being said addresses directly and candidly some of the country's real social and political problems, particularly the disparity between the standard of living of those in the country's increasingly prosperous cities and that of the 800 million Chinese who live in the countryside, primarily as farmers.

The more potentially disquieting piece of Chinese policy that has emerged in these discussions is a 14.7 percent increase in the country's military spending. The official total -- if it is an honest figure -- will now stand at some $35.3 billion, less than 10 percent of America's own military expenditures. China, of course, seeks only a regional Asian military role, while the United States puts troops around the globe -- in Iraq, the Horn of Africa, Colombia, Afghanistan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, consistent with what the Bush administration sees as the global reach of its international policies.

Closer to the bone and somewhat jarring, the announcement of the major increase in the Chinese defense budget came right on the heels of another provocative action on the part of the president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian. Mr. Chen announced the dissolution of the National Unification Council, which was supposed to be the locus of discussions of the eventual reintegration of Taiwan into China, a very sensitive point for Beijing. The Chinese government chose to see this symbolic act as decidedly negative, and took the occasion to warn Taiwan one more time about the consequences of seeking to move toward independence.

The United States cannot welcome the increase in Chinese firepower. Nor can it welcome any action on Taiwan's part to pull the tail of the Beijing dragon, given America's own spread-eagled military stance, with 140,000 troops in Iraq and 20,000 in Afghanistan.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06073/669801.stm

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - China, Russia in cahoots together to eat our lunch...

Chinese, Russians Moving Quickly to Surpass U.S. War-Fighting Capabilities
September 20, 2016 - Air Force General John Hyten, nominated to head the U.S. Strategic Command, told Congress on Tuesday that the Chinese and the Russians are moving quickly to develop systems that will cripple U.S. war-fighting capabilities in space.

"Sir, I believe that they -- they are building those capabilities today," Hyten told Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "And both the Chinese and the Russians in particular have been watching those capabilities be employed (by the United States) in the battlefield in the last 20 years, and in response to that, they're building counter-space capabilities to deny us those capabilities in conflict." McCain, noting that they were speaking in open session, asked Hyten, "So they are developing capabilities specifically designed to cripple our capabilities in space?"

"Yes, sir, they are," Hyten repeated. He said he believes it's "essential" for the U.S. to move faster so it can stay ahead of its adversaries. "I'm not sure that the American people and even members of this committee are as aware as they should be of this emerging challenge," McCain said. He said he may hold a classified briefing for the Armed Services Committee "because the information is deeply disturbing." "And I will say with some immodesty, I keep up with what's going on in the world, but I was not aware of the significance and depth of the challenge until our conversation about it yesterday," McCain told Hyten. Asked if there is a "cohesive strategy" to counter the challenge posed by China and Russia, Hyten said there is -- but he also said the U.S. is moving "much slower" in certain areas than our adversaries are. "We need our industry and our acquisition process to move faster, sir."

Hyten said Russia has watched "the amazing conventional force" that the United States has developed over the last 20 years "that can significantly dominate any battlefield in the world today. And I believe that they're concerned about their ability to respond in the conventional arena. "Therefore, I think it's logical from their perspective to make sure that they continue to modernize all their forces, including their nuclear forces." Hyten also said the Russians have watched the power of U.S. alliances and partnerships: "And they're challenging the status quo across Europe, in Crimea, in a number of areas, pushing and creating tension within our partnerships and alliances, which is another significant advantage that the United States has built in the last 20 years."

Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress in March that the Defense Department planned to invest a total of $34 billion in electronic warfare, space, and cyberspace in Fiscal Year 2017. "Among other things, this will help...us build our cyber mission force, develop next-generation electronic jammers and prepare for the possibility of a conflict that extends into space. In short, DOD will keep ensuring our dominance in all domains," he said. A week later, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work told the satellite industry that to stay ahead of Russia and China, the U.S. must make its "architectures and operations more resilient -- hard to find, hard to catch, hard to hit, hard to kill." He said that involves different orbits, mobility, deception, distributed architectures, as well as active measures, such as threat suppression and damage limitation.

Strategic Command Nominee: Chinese, Russians Moving Quickly to Surpass U.S. War-Fighting Capabilities