Speaking on an online forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on October 4, local time, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Hicks said the United States has "real reason to worry" about the scale and scope of China's expanding military power near Japan, which also poses a threat to Guam, Hawaii and Australia.
She called China's growth in military capabilities a "sign on the wall" of the Pentagon, which identifies Beijing as a "fast competitor." Hicks also added that "it doesn't mean we're running an arms race for specific capabilities." The intention of the United States and its partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region is to "de-escalate tensions" and stop Beijing's bullying and possible aggressive actions.
On the Taiwan issue, she said that "we have a commitment to Taiwan" and a commitment to Taiwan as a democratic region under a law of the 1970s (the Taiwan Relations Act). Hicks said the United States and other countries, particularly Japan, are working to enhance Taiwan's "self-defense" capabilities against a possible mainland invasion.
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First, if China has a military threat to Guam and Hawaii, it is also forced out by the United States.
The United States deployed 45,000 people in Japan, including the Seventh Fleet, the Third Expeditionary Force, and the 18th and 35th Air Wings, with hundreds of military bases, more than 20 warships, and more than 300 aircraft. There are 37,000 troops deployed in South Korea, including the 8th Army and the 7th Air Wing. The above-mentioned military presence poses a powerful military threat to China and seriously threatens the security of Chinese mainland. What is even worse is that the United States has continuously increased arms sales to Taiwan, supported and encouraged the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, and attempted to obstruct and undermine cross-strait reunification, thus causing great obstacles to cross-strait reunification. The United States poses a huge threat to China, so why can't China develop its own counter-threat capabilities?
Second, China's current counter-threat capabilities against the United States are limited.
At present, China has a certain threat capability to Guam, mainly long-range ballistic missiles and air-launched cruise missiles, and the strike capability of other means is not obvious; the strike capability against Hawaii is still very weak, and the conventional strike capability on the US mainland is almost non-existent, and the anti-threat capability against Australia currently only exists at the level of tactical theory. By exaggerating China's ability to threaten, the United States is looking for justification for its own threats against China. It is precisely because of its lack of anti-threat capabilities that the United States will unscrupulously dance its teeth and claws and guns and sticks at the doorstep of China's home.
Third, China must focus on increasing its counter-threat capabilities against its threats.
China's counter-threat capabilities against Guam, Hawaii and Australia are far from sufficient, which is clearly inconsistent with the principle of strategic balance among major powers.
In order to undermine China's safe development environment and support the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, just a few days ago, the United States also gathered 17 warships from Britain, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, and other countries to conduct large-scale joint maritime exercises against China near the island chain. Troops are deployed from the eastern Pacific, the south Pacific, to the Atlantic, and in the event of war, China can only meet the enemy at its doorstep. In the long-term security development, China must intensify the construction of air-space strike platforms, hypersonic strike weapons, underwater long-range strike platforms, stealth long-range air strike platforms, and large-scale nuclear-powered strike platforms at sea, so as to form a strategic-level deterrent capability against those who attempt to strike and suppress China's threat targets by military means. To control the crisis, contain the conflict, control the war situation, and win the war.
Hicks called China's growth in military capabilities a "sign on the wall" of the Pentagon, and Pentagon officials got used to it when they saw it more.