July 21, 2020
China's military capabilities are gaining on the U.S. The Pentagon needs to take bold steps.
The next U.S. administration will face an increasingly emboldened and aggressive China — one that has shown a growing willingness to use coercive measures to stake its territorial claims from the South China Sea to Taiwan to the Indian border region. Although neither Washington nor Beijing wants a war, there is a real risk that miscalculation could cause a crisis to spiral into a conflict between these two nuclear-armed powers.
Few U.S. national security challenges are of greater consequence and urgency than preventing conflict with China and promoting a peaceful Asia-Pacific region.
To prevent conflict, the United States must maintain the military capability to deter China by demonstrating the ability to deny the success of such aggression or impose costs so high that Beijing steps back from the brink. The problem is this: If the Pentagon's own reported war games and analysis are to be believed, the current force may well be insufficient to deter or defeat Chinese aggression in the future.
Read the full article in NBC News.
More from CNAS
-
Sharpening the U.S. Military’s Edge: Critical Steps for the Next Administration
Commentary
The Bottom Line The United States is losing its military technological advantage vis-à-vis great power competitors such as China. Reversing this trend must be DoD leadership’...
By Michèle Flournoy & Gabrielle Chefitz
-
Congressional Testimony
Defense / Middle East Security
Iran War Could Hinge On Who Runs Low On Munitions FirstIn just days of attacks, the US has used weapons stores that could take years to rebuild. On today’s Big Take podcast, Sarah Holder sits down with global defense editor Gerry ...
By Becca Wasser
-
Commentary
Defense / Middle East Security
Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts U.S. Military Under Unprecedented StrainThis article was originally published in Bloomberg. When the first cruise missiles began detonating inside Iran, the strikes had all the hallmarks of previous successful U.S. ...
By Becca Wasser
-
Video
Defense / Middle East Security
Trump Threatens Iran over Strait of HormuzCenter for a New American Security program director Stacie Pettyjohn joined BBC News to discuss the war in Iran, Iranian attempts to mine the Strait of Hormuz, and the challen...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
