On October 7, the U.S. Navy released new strategic guidance that directly refers to China as its most pressing challenge. Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao said that this is the first time that the United States has recognized that China and the United States have equal naval strength.
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro said the U.S. desired goal was not to fight China, and no one wanted to get involved in the conflict. But the ultimate responsibility of the United States remains to prevent China from achieving its goals, including the Taiwan issue.
A Strategic Guide to the U.S. Navy
In his new strategic guidance, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro lists China, military culture, climate change and COVID-19 as the four major challenges facing the U.S. Navy. Among them, the guide said that the long-term challenges posed by China are the most important.
Del Toro wrote: "China is a pressing challenge, and we must plan our operational strategies and investments. For the first time in at least a generation, we have encountered a strategic competitor. China has a naval prowess that rivals ours and seeks to use its military deployment to challenge U.S. principles, partnerships, and prosperity. ”
The Chinese Navy has fundamentally expanded its size and capabilities to become the world's largest fleet.
"From cyber capabilities to anti-satellite missiles, to integrated air defense to anti-ship ballistic missiles, China is advancing in every area." Earlier, Del Toro said bluntly in a speech at the Naval Academy on the 5th that in recent years, China has proved that it has a more powerful warship-building capability than the United States, and is making wise investments in space and cyberspace, which makes the wise investment of the United States crucial.
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro delivered a speech at the Naval Academy on the 5th. Image from the U.S. Naval Research Institute (USNI)
CNN said in a March report that by the end of 2020, the number of warships in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy had reached about 360, compared with 297 in the United States, and the number of Chinese warships had surpassed the United States to become the world's largest fleet. However, the U.S. Navy has 330,000 people, the Chinese Navy has 250,000 people, and the U.S. Navy warships have advantages in tonnage and attack capabilities, as well as the number of nuclear-powered submarines.
Therefore, in order to enhance deterrence and expand "operational superiority" over China, the guide said that the U.S. Navy's top priority is to develop operational concepts and capabilities.
According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported on the 10th, Clark, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, pointed out that the development of operational concepts and capabilities into the new strategic guidelines will allow the US Navy to compete with China in all areas such as the sea, the seabed and cyberspace.
"All along, we've been dealing with weaker opponents," he said. I think the United States has become accustomed to being dominant and can call on others at will. When faced with an equally powerful opponent like China, you have to be creative and come up with new ways to deter China. You can't rely solely on a strong army, as we did with Iraq, Afghanistan or Kosovo. ”
"Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, unmanned platforms, directed energy, supersonic weapons, distributed energy, these frontiers will determine your advantage over China, and we must quickly develop these areas." Del Toro wrote in the guide: "Our department will invest in emerging technologies and capabilities in a targeted manner to enhance and maintain the operability, maritime dominance and information superiority of amphibious operations." We will make information a strategic asset and cybersecurity a top priority, enhancing lethality, improving readiness, and maintaining resilience in cyberspace. We will also invest in the facilities, infrastructure and systems we need to support and maintain the critical strengths of our combat forces. ”
In June, the Biden administration released an updated annual long-term shipbuilding plan that would require the United States to have a manned fleet of a minimum of 321 ships, possibly as high as 372, and 77 to 140 large unmanned fleets in the future. As a result, the total fleet of the U.S. military can be increased from 398 ships to 512.
U.S. Fleet Infographic From National Defense
In addition, del Toro said in his speech that the second priority of the strategy guide is to build alliances and partnerships on a global scale. To this end, the U.S. Navy provides Australia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and many other Indo-Pacific countries with the necessary weapons and technology, and even "ensures that the Taiwan region has the ability to defend itself."
Del Toro declared that the desired goal was not to fight China, and no one wanted to get involved in the conflict. But preventing China from achieving its goals is ultimately the responsibility of the United States, including preventing Chinese mainland from "taking over Taiwan."
In this regard, Scott Ritter, a former intelligence officer of the US Marine Corps, said in a Russian media post on the 9th that the United States does not have the ability to "protect Taiwan."
He said that although Taiwan's military strength looks good on the surface, it is obviously ill-prepared for the mainland. And U.S. government officials are making empty checks with their mouths, which cannot be cashed at all. For the United States, the only feasible option is to use nuclear weapons. But this will trigger an all-out nuclear war with China, and the United States will certainly not "commit suicide" for Taiwan, with which it does not even have a formal defense treaty. Therefore, it would be better to work with Chinese mainland and Taiwan to achieve the goal of peaceful reunification.
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