The administration of US President Joe Biden has proposed a budget asking for billions more dollars to boost its Indo-Pacific military command, enhance missile defense and strengthen regional economies, as part of a broader push to counter China’s more assertive role in the region.
The White House is proposing US$9.1 billion for Pentagon investments in the Indo-Pacific region as part of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, up from a US$6.1 billion request for this year. In the end, the US Congress appropriated US$11.5 billion for this year, suggesting that the initiative could get more than it asked for this time also.
Separately, the US Indo-Pacific Command this week in a congressionally mandated report listed the categories of Pentagon spending in which it wants increased funding. It listed US$15.3 billion in needs, up from the US$9 billion it recommended last year.
Photo: AFP
The command wants to boost its arsenal for a potential China fight with underwater mines nicknamed Hammerhead and Quick Strike, and ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that could be fired against Chinese ships.
Its wish list includes billions of dollars for missile defense in Guam and Hawaii, as well as broader missile-warning systems. Overall, the command recommended US$86.8 billion in those areas to shore up US defenses and military presence in the region over the next four years. Last year’s four-year recommendation totaled US$67 billion.
The emphasis on funneling more money to US military assets in the Indo-Pacific highlights how much the Biden administration wants to reorient its defense posture to respond to China’s growing military and economic might.
The administration is demonstrating that commitment with a pledge to sell Australia some of its Virginia-class submarines, part of a move to bolster an alliance that includes the UK.
Biden is set to unveil the agreement in a meeting with the prime ministers of Australia and the UK in San Diego on Monday.
US intelligence chiefs told a US House of Representatives hearing on Thursday that China does not want a military conflict over Taiwan, but remains determined to bring the independently governed island under its control.
The US must not “underestimate the ambitions of the current Chinese leadership in that regard, or their determination” to achieve unification with Taiwan, CIA Director William Burns said.
Meanwhile, the US Department of State is seeking US$2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and a further US$2 billion to go toward strategic infrastructure projects — a move likely aimed at countering China’s long-running Belt and Road Initiative, which has built roads, ports and power plants from Pakistan to Sri Lanka.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made no secret of the intended target. He said it was a move to “out-compete the People’s Republic of China” and strengthen the US presence in the region.
The Indo-Pacific Command recommends US$172 million in continued development and procurement for the Hammerhead, a weapon it describes as “an offensive mining system” that would be delivered by a drone to “detect, classify and destroy submarines threats.”
The command also highlighted the potential to attack China’s surface vessels with Quickstrike air-launched sea mines developed by Boeing Co, which could hit water and seek out surface targets. The command recommends lawmakers shift US$142 million into that program.
China has the world’s largest navy, with 340 surface ships and submarines. It operates six Jin-class submarines carrying nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 44 diesel-powered attack subs. The US has fewer than 300 vessels.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS