Pentagon leaders stressed the importance of the US military’s readiness for a possible confrontation with China, and called for an increase in the defense budget by 40 percent over last year.
The US Congress approved the proposed $842 billion Defense Department budget that would modernize forces in Asia and around the world.
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on Defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “This is a strategy-driven budget – a budget driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China.” referring to increases in new technology, such as the speed of sound.
Austin said 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 comes in the wake of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, and amid fears that China will step up its support for Russia.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China’s behavior “pushes it down a path toward confrontation and potential conflict with its neighbors and perhaps the United States.
He added that war and preparation for it “are very expensive, but it is not as expensive as fighting a war. This budget prevents war and prepares us to fight it if necessary.”
Milley, who will retire later this year, added that the Department of Defense must continue modernizing its forces to ensure they are ready to fight if needed.
Two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have eroded military equipment and troop readiness, so the United States is working to replace weapons systems and give troops time to reset.
It’s paying off, Milley told Congress. “Our rates of operational readiness are higher now than they have been in many years,” he emphasized.
He added that more than 60 percent of the active force is in the highest state of readiness at the present time, and it can be deployed to fight in less than 30 days, while 10 percent can be deployed within 96 hours.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency