Philip Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Thai Defense Minister Gen. Pornpipat Benyasri meet, June 18, 2019. (U.S. Defense Department website)
A senior U.S. military general is concerned that the Chinese Communist Party is picking up the pace in its desire to replace the United States on the world stage.
Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday (March 9) that the Chinese Communist military has made “tremendous strides” in size and capability and poses a threat to the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, which he described as “the most influential region for the future of the United States.
“The military balance in the Indo-Pacific region is increasingly detrimental to the United States and our allies.” Davidson said.
He said the “greatest danger” the U.S. faces in the region is “the erosion of conventional deterrence against the Chinese Communist Party,” and that without it, Beijing will be “emboldened Without conventional deterrence, Beijing will be “emboldened” to continue all kinds of aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, including aggression against Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
“Our deterrence situation in the Indo-Pacific must demonstrate the capability, strength and willingness to convince Beijing once and for all that the cost of using military means to achieve its objectives is too high.” Davidson said.
The Chinese Communist Navy is now larger than the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command assesses that by 2025, the Communist forces are expected to have three aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific, compared with one in the United States; 12 amphibious assault ships, compared with four in the United States; and 108 modern multi-warfare combatant ships, compared with 12 in the United States.
The Communist army’s stated goal is to be a “world-class” military by the end of 2049.
Given the Communist Party’s military advances and its growing confidence in the region, Davidson said, “I fear they are accelerating their ambitions to replace the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order.”
“They’ve long said they want to do that by 2050, and I’m concerned they’re moving that goal closer.” He added.
The admiral said the threat of a Beijing invasion of Taiwan will manifest itself “in the next six years.
Davidson said the Chinese Communist Party is also using “the power of an entire political party to coerce, corrupt and absorb the governments, businesses, organizations and people of the Indo-Pacific region” against the backdrop of the Communist expansion.
To counter the Communist Party, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is seeking an increase of about $27 billion from 2022 to 2027, with $4.6 billion projected for the next fiscal year alone. The proposal includes the acquisition of new weapons and increased military cooperation with allies in the region.
Davidson said building a missile defense system on Guam is his “number one priority. Such a system, he said, “would give Guam a 360-degree defense against any military attack from the Chinese Communist Party, whether from air, sea or future ballistic missiles.
“Guam, today, is a target,” the admiral said, citing a Communist Air Force propaganda video from last year that showed Communist bombers simulating an attack on Guam’s U.S. Anderson Air Force Base, “and it needs to be defended and it needs to be prepared for future threats. ”
Recent Comments