The US Administration has declared its commitment to strengthening the military presence in the Asia-Pacific region with only one purpose - to deter China. In mid-May, Senate hearings were held, where Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke. Both speakers paid considerable attention to the problem of China. The head of the Pentagon announced his intention to hold a face-to-face meeting with Defense Minister of China Wei Fenghe at the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 10-12 in Singapore. He also added that it is important for the US Administration to keep contacts with Chinese counterparts as part of efforts to maintain open two-way communication channels.
At the same time, the main thesis of a Lloyd Austin’s speech was that China is still the main threat for the US. Washington intends to build up its military potential in the Indo-Pacific; increase the stocks of weapons and equipment and strengthen the defense infrastructure, in particular, missile and air defense on Guam according to the National Security Strategy. To do this, the budget for 2023 includes $6bn for the implementation of the Indo-Pacific initiative. Mark Milley also emphasized that within the framework of the announced by the leader of China Xi Jinping army modernization, there is also a task for the People’s Liberation Army to be ready for the hypothetical seizure of Taiwan by 2027. At the same time Gen. Milley notice that this doesn’t necessarily mean that China is going to seize Taiwan for real by this time. But the Beijing’s striving to provide the necessary facilities for the reunification of the island deserves the closest attention. In general, the statements of the high-ranked representatives of the defense department once again demonstrated the US Administration’s focus on deterrence of China. Lawmakers positively perceived this anti-Chinese sentiment. At the same time, they expressed concern over the expansion of the Republic of China Navy which is estimated to have around 460 naval ships by year 2030 against 280 ships in the US. For this reason, the main emphasis was placed on the importance of strengthening Washington’s relations with its allies and partners to maintain the needed military potential in sea.