{"id":66330,"date":"2022-02-16T19:41:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T19:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/16\/china-now-more-willing-able-to-challenge-us-military-report-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:59:02","slug":"china-now-more-willing-able-to-challenge-us-military-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/02\/16\/china-now-more-willing-able-to-challenge-us-military-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"China now more willing, able to challenge US military, report says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

China has modernized<\/a> its military from obsolescence into one that can now challenge<\/a> the U.S. military \u201cacross the spectrum\u201d of capabilities<\/a>. At the same time, the U.S. needs to take \u201ctimely actions\u201d to keep pace, says a report<\/a> from the Government Accountability Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only has China re-tooled its military into a force that can contend with the U.S., but it also has a \u201cwillingness to exercise\u201d its growing power, presenting a \u201csignificant\u201d challenge to the U.S. in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While China seeks to have a \u201cworld-class\u201d military by 2049, the report says that Chinese capabilities, particularly within \u201cthe First Island Chain,\u201d are already significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first island chain\u201d refers<\/a> to the initial line of archipelagos out from the East Asian mainland. The \u201cline\u201d stretches from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the northeast to the Malay Peninsula in the southwest. The chain includes major U.S. interests and allies such as Okinawa, the Philippines, and Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China now has the world\u2019s largest navy and the world\u2019s most extensive shipbuilding capability, along with mainland air defenses capable of hitting aircraft some 550 kilometers from the coast of China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to A Battery, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade, maneuver an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) into position as part of an exercise in Santa Rita, Guam, Feb. 10, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Richard Carlisi, I Corps Public Affairs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In particular, China\u2019s development of Anti-Access\/Area-Denial weapons systems represents a significant capability. That capability includes ballistic missiles capable of targeting U.S. ships, such as aircraft carriers, 1,500 kilometers from the Chinese mainland. But, the ballistic and cruise missiles that China has developed are not strictly for interdicting shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, these missiles can reach Guam and the U.S. logistics and power projection assets stationed there and throughout the region, giving China the present ability to disrupt U.S. military operations west of Guam should China choose to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guam has \u201csome of the most significant\u201d ammunition and fuel storage capabilities in the Pacific, according to the Defense Department\u2019s 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy<\/a>. Additionally, DoD is spending an estimated $8.6 billion, along with $3.1 billion from Japan, to bolster Guam\u2019s position as a \u201cstrategic hub.\u201d According<\/a> to the Wall Street Journal, Guam currently hosts some 22,000 U.S. military personnel with at least another 5,000 on their way by the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While China has seen a rapid advancement in weapons systems and conventional capabilities, it is also expanding this effort into the cyber and space domains, which it views as integral to success on a modern battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, according to the report, China uses its cyber capabilities to not only \u201cdeter and degrade\u201d adversarial operations but to \u201cexfiltrate\u201d information \u201cfrom the U.S. defense industrial base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the future, China seeks to be the \u201cglobal leader in [artificial intelligence] by 2030,\u201d which it views as a critical part of both their future military and industrial power. Also, according to the report, China views future space-based systems \u201cas central to modern warfare.\u201d As such, China is developing the ability to conduct anti-satellite strikes through physical and electronic means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although China\u2019s military is rapidly modernizing and represents a \u201cpacing threat,\u201d it is still facing several challenges, many of them internal. Among these are international and regional turmoil, such as an ongoing border dispute with India, terrorism, natural disasters, and epidemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, according to the report, while rapidly modernizing its military, China has yet to integrate these upgrades into its operational forces fully. The Pentagon says this causes significant \u201cgaps and shortcomings\u201d in how China could wage war. Additionally, China has yet to fight a war with its \u201ccurrent suite of capabilities,\u201d leaving them largely untested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Royal Australian Air Force, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft fly in close formation during exercise Cope North 22 near Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 7, 2022. Japan is contributing more than $3 billion to bolster Guam as a strategic hub for U.S. partners and allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Roslyn Ward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To account for and mitigate China\u2019s growing military capability, the GAO recommends that DoD prioritize several areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of primary concern is the readiness of the U.S. military. According to the report, which discussed domains, not individual services, the only DoD domain that increased in total readiness between 2017-2019 were ground forces. This finding is based on an annual GAO report, released<\/a> in April 2021, analyzing DoD readiness across the five operational domains spelled out in the National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current GAO report addressed three specific domains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n