{"id":274744,"date":"2021-06-15T03:11:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T00:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/facing-chinas-challenge-means-spending-more-on-defense-joe\/"},"modified":"2021-06-15T03:11:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T00:11:08","slug":"facing-chinas-challenge-means-spending-more-on-defense-joe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/facing-chinas-challenge-means-spending-more-on-defense-joe\/","title":{"rendered":"#Facing China’s challenge means spending more on defense, Joe"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Facing China’s challenge means spending more on defense, Joe<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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President\u00a0Biden isn\u2019t known for austerity, except when it comes to defense.<\/p>\n

As part of his (welcome) emphasis on competition with China, Biden cajoled European countries at the G-7 summit into releasing a statement critical of Beijing. He also announced an \u00adinfrastructure program meant to counter China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all good, as far as it goes, but a glaring omission from Biden\u2019s campaign is a defense budget that reflects the seriousness of the growing challenge from Beijing.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Biden justifies almost any increased US spending as designed to check China\u2019s ambitions, at the same time he neglects what is most needful to keep China from dominating its region and waging war on our allies or America itself.<\/p>\n

If we can deter China from taking Taiwan with subsidies for electric cars, Biden is inarguably the Churchill of his time. And if we can counter China\u2019s defense buildup with more funding for \u00adaffordable housing, Biden deserves to take his place beside Alfred \u00adGeorge Kennan as a great strategic thinker.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, his app<\/a>roach is lacking \u2014 and disturbingly so.<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s infrastructure plan \u2014 a sprawling proposal that would spend $2.3 trillion on everything from roads and bridges to affordable housing to elder care \u2014 is about the \u201cglobal competition with China,\u201d he insists.<\/p>\n

At a visit to Ford\u2019s electric-vehicle center last month, Biden said of China, \u201cThey think they\u2019re gonna win. Well, I got news<\/a> for them, they will not win this race. We can\u2019t let them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chinese
Chinese fighter jets on an aircraft carrier during a drill in the East China Sea.<\/figcaption>
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Biden\u2019s way of thinking, whatever progressives have wanted to do for years is suddenly a priority in the new Cold War with China. Adopting the latest party line, the left-wing \u201cexplainer\u201d Web site Vox claimed<\/a>, \u201cimproving domestic \u00adinfrastructure and investing in new and emerging technologies, especially clean-energy technology<\/a>, is the best way the US can challenge China for supremacy on the world stage.\u201d The publication quoted a Democratic congressional aide, \u201cThe best way to enact a progressive agenda is to use China [as a] threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are indeed areas of \u00adadvanced tech that we need to invest in, especially semiconductors and artificial intelligence (a $250 billion Senate bill passed last week is an imperfect step in this direction), but it isn\u2019t true that we can simply windmill and universal pre-K our way to victory over China.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake \u2014 Beijing is not so woolly-headed. Although you might miss it listening to Biden, there are threats from China that don\u2019t involve infrastructure spending or clean-energy initiatives.<\/p>\n

China has been growing its \u00adannual defense spending by more than 6 percent a year. Its navy has now surpassed that of the United States and is now technically the largest in the world. It is on pace to double its nuclear weapons over the next decade.<\/p>\n

It has flown hundreds of sorties near Taiwan this year, including 25 on one day. A top US admiral warns that Beijing could invade Taiwan in the next six years.<\/p>\n

Given all that, one might expect the openhanded Biden to invest substantially in a stronger, more advanced US military, but his profligacy doesn\u2019t extend so far. His \u00addefense budget represents an \u00adincrease of about 2 percent, which won\u2019t even keep up with inflation.<\/p>\n

\"increase\"
The United States\u2019 defense spending needs to increase in order to keep up with China\u2019s defense spending.<\/figcaption>
NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This doesn\u2019t come close to what we realistically need. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley said at a US Naval Institute event late last year, \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to have a much larger fleet than we have \u00adtoday, if we\u2019re serious about great-power competition and deterring great-power war.\u201d He called for a 3 per\u00adcent to 5 percent increase in the budget every year but didn\u2019t think that was plausible because of fiscal constraints (little did he know the blowout to come in every other area of the budget).<\/p>\n

We should be spending more on defense \u2014 and spending differently. With an eye to deterring conflict with China, we need to comprehensively recalibrate to focus on advanced technologies and weapons systems for the US Navy and Air Force, and in space. Hypersonics, directed energy and control of the electromagnetic spectrum should be particular priorities.<\/p>\n

Biden has no excuse for not pursuing this. It isn\u2019t as though he can say we can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n

Twitter<\/a>: @RichLowry<\/a><\/em>\n <\/div>\n