The civilian head of the United States Army expressed apprehension on Tuesday about the military advances China has achieved over the past two decades and described the steps the US is taking in response to bolster its posture in the Indo-Pacific.
“I’m quite concerned, obviously, about the PLA threat,” said Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. “They’ve embarked on a very impressive 20-year effort to comprehensively modernise their military across every single service.”
Wormuth said that the US military continued to outmatch China’s in the undersea domain, enjoyed a “much more decentralised, empowered force” and had significantly more combat experience. But, she added, the PLA was closely studying US armed forces, seeking to learn from the way they trained and maintained readiness.
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“I don’t think we should be complacent,” she said.
Wormuth, the first woman named to her position, was joined by James McConville, the US Army chief of staff, at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington.
Asked about the US ability to respond to potential sudden moves of aggression in the region by actors like North Korea or China, McConville said that “we’re ready today, but we’re not satisfied where we’re at”.
“We’ve got to modernise the army,” he added, saying those efforts would include increasing the speed and range of weapons – capabilities considered particularly important in the expansive domains of the Indo-Pacific.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing has developed a plan to operate a “fully modernised” military by 2027 and a “world class” fighting force by 2049.
US defence officials were caught off guard last year when, according to Financial Times, China conducted tests of highly advanced hypersonic weaponry – military capabilities previously unknown.
The US is racing to catch up, with a new hypersonic missile developed jointly by the Army and Navy expected to be operational in 2023, Wormuth said.
“We’ll be able to sink ships within a fairly good range, so you can even set up no-sail type zones using the mid-range capability,” McConville said, adding that with “hypersonics and some of these longer-range systems you can basically suppress an integrated air and missile defence capability”.
The army officials’ comments came as the US and Philippine militaries conduct a month of joint exercises in the Philippines, amid tensions between Manila and Beijing over maritime disputes in the South China Sea. Wormuth said the US also stood ready to step up military exercises with South Korea, after drills were scaled back amid the pandemic and diplomatic efforts toward North Korea.
The Pentagon considers the Indo-Pacific to be the US military’s “priority theatre”, with the challenge posed by China set to feature prominently in the department’s annual budget proposal.
US and Philippines eye return to full military drills in 2022
In February, the US unveiled an Indo-Pacific strategy singling out what it called China’s “coercion and aggression”. That comes amid an increased focus by the US on its “Quad” security pact with India, Japan and Australia, as well as the formation of the Aukus alliance with Australia and Britain – widely viewed as a means to counter Beijing.
“The Quad, frankly, has got China’s attention,” Wormuth said. “They are, I think, a little nervous about what’s happening in the Quad.”
But the Biden administration’s early efforts to focus foreign policy on shoring up alliances and crafting an economic framework for the region have been largely overshadowed, first by the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and now by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing’s refusal to condemn Moscow’s actions and reported willingness to provide arms to Russia has amplified scrutiny of China’s own ambitions when it comes to Taiwan. The Chinese government regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must eventually reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.
“I think they’re watching very closely,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told Fox News over the weekend, referring to a US assessment that Beijing is monitoring the war in Ukraine as a gauge of how the West might respond to a move to take Taiwan.
China’s stance on the Ukraine crisis not only came under deep scrutiny by other European countries but also grabbed the attention of Indo-Pacific nations, Wormuth said, asserting that they largely shared the US assessment of Beijing as a “pacing threat.”
Even so, she said, the US did not want to make those nations choose sides between the US and China.
“We recognise that countries that live in the neighbourhood are going to want to have trade relationships and so on,” said Wormuth. “But I think, again, all of those countries are looking at those relationships and dynamics in real time and making some shifts.”
More from South China Morning Post:
- Ukraine invasion: Pentagon officials say Russia’s attack shows need for US to safeguard Indo-Pacific
- As Russia attacks Ukraine, China eyes the Indo-Pacific: Australian intelligence
- Quad leaders agree Ukraine experience should not be allowed in Indo-Pacific
- ‘US signals resolve on Indo-Pacific, Taiwan’ despite Ukraine war
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