US maritime chiefs see China as gravest threat

FULLER VERSION OF MY PIECE IN THE TIMES TODAY: China's naval and ballistic missile threat to the United States will define the balance of power for the rest of this century, a report by three American service chiefs has warned. Only decisive action this decade by US maritime forces – Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard – will stop China and, to a lesser extent, Russia from “undermining the existing world order”, the chiefs of the three services said. Their warning in a joint report ,headlined Advantage at Sea, underlines the unprecedented dangers that lie ahead in the 21st century. China is singled out as the greatest threat. “Optimism that China and Russia might become responsible leaders contributing to global security has given way to recognition that they are determined rivals. The People’s Republic of China represents the most pressing long-term strategic threat,” they said. The huge increase in China’s naval power, warship-building and proliferation of long-range precision missiles meant the US could no longer presume “unfettered access to the world’s oceans in times of conflict”. China’s behaviour and accelerated military growth now challenged the US Navy’s ability to preserve the freedom of the seas, as well as “deterring aggression and winning wars”, the service chiefs said. The warning comes only days after senior Chinese naval officials failed to attend a planned virtual meeting with the top US navy chief in the Indo-Pacific. Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, had been due to speak to Chinese counterparts about maritime safety in the region. He accused China of failing to honour its agreements. Many steps have already been taken by the US to switch resources to counter the threat from China. They began under President Obama when he authorised the refocusing of US strategic interests towards the Indo-Pacific region. The build-up of US naval forces in the region has continued under President Trump. Today about 60 per cent of US Navy combat ships are in the region. The Marine Corps is being transformed into a greater expeditionary combat force, equipped with anti-ship missiles, and the Coast Guard is also increasing its presence in the region. However, the three service leaders, Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, General David Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, and Admiral Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, warned: “The security of our nation depends on our ability to maintain advantage at sea.” Underlining the challenge in the Indo-Pacific, the report says China is developing “the world’s largest missile force, with nuclear capabilities, which is designed to strike US and allied forces in Guam and in the Far East with everything from ballistic missiles to manoeuvrable cruise and hypersonic missiles”. China’s naval battle force, the report said, had tripled in size in only two decades and was now larger than the American warship strength, 350 ships and submarines as against the US Navy’s 293. In August China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) demonstrated for the first time an ability to hit a moving vessel with a long-range anti-ship ballistic missile. Although the service chiefs’ report also highlights the increasing aggression shown by the Russian navy, it says “China is the only rival with the combined economic and military potential to present a long-term, comprehensive challenge to the United States”. To counter the threat, America’s maritime strategy envisages a hybrid fleet consisting of its existing nuclear-powered carriers and submarines alongside new, smaller ships and lighter amphibious assault vessels to provide a more flexible and rapidly deployable force. The US is also continuing to field small numbers of low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile nuclear warheads to increase deterrence; and the navy is developing a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile.