China's military buildup: How far along is it?

Wildfire

Alfrescian
Loyal
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
1,895
Points
0
China's faster-than-expected military buildup has alarmed the United States and its Asian allies and could help the Pentagon gird
against deeper defense cuts threatened in some corners of Congress.

But even though the sophistication of China's People's Liberation Army has exceeded US military forecasts, there is a recognition
within the Pentagon that some of its most-cited conventional capabilities are still in their infancy.

The PLA is also still some way from mastering the ability to mount large joint force operations, which will be needed to make the
most of new found capabilities grabbing headlines.

The US military has spent the past decade of war honing joint operations that weave together teams and skills from across its
armed forces -- a hard-won but potent tool.

The US Navy's top intelligence officer warned before retiring earlier this year against overestimating Chinese military capabilities.

"I don't view them as 10 feet tall," Vice Admiral David Dorsett said. "Have we seen large joint sophisticated exercises? No ... They
are at the front end of developing their military capability."

At the same time, the US military believes China appears on track to field a modern, regionally focused military by 2020.

The US military's estimates of China offer a more mixed view. This year's assessment noted China's lack of operational experience
and large amounts of antiquated hardware but said the PLA was "steadily closing the technological gap with modern armed forces."

Dean Cheng, a China expert at the Heritage Foundation think-tank in Washington, said future Chinese advances like improvements
in its anti-ship ballistic missile would influence US risk assessments when deploying near its shores.

That is not to say China will be able to flat-out deny US access to nearby waters any time soon.

"Denial is a function of risk -- what level of risk are we willing to accept in order to do whatever it is we're going to do out there,"
Cheng said.

"Should we expect them to be much more competent 10 years from now than they are today? As long as their economy's robust,
absolutely."

Meanwhile, a comprehensive strategy to maintain the US edge in the Pacific will require investment, a tough challenge in an era of
budget cuts.
 
US defend budget about 20%~25% annual Federal budget.
Interest of the USA debt another 20% budget. Social welfare 20%.
Every year left with only 1/3 planning for other...............road/education/medical.............
USA sure bankrupt itself.
 
US defend budget about 20%~25% annual Federal budget.
Interest of the USA debt another 20% budget. Social welfare 20%.
Every year left with only 1/3 planning for other...............road/education/medical.............
USA sure bankrupt itself.
You need to consider that much of their defense budget is spent within its shores, whereas sinkieland military spending largely sent out. I think their normal defense budget is around 5% of GDP, about the same as sinkieland. Only North Korea is higher, at 30% of GDP.
 
US defend budget about 20%~25% annual Federal budget.
Interest of the USA debt another 20% budget. Social welfare 20%.
Every year left with only 1/3 planning for other...............road/education/medical.............
USA sure bankrupt itself.

You must be crazy. Its definitely not 20 to 25%. Where did you get those figures from?
 
China's military will keep modernising. So will every other country.

Then they will realize they're going broke spending money on destructive technology. But the defense contractors and the gung-ho among them will keep reminding themselves of "enemies." Then when disaster (flood, earthquake, storms) hit, they will find that their laser weapons, stealth fighters and bombers can't do fuckall to help their citizens. Their nuclear stockpiles can't feed their hungry and starving. They should have spent on other things and prepare for the rainy day.

All countries need defense. But there is no need to overdo it. Other things, like your citizens health and comfort are important too.

Cheers!
 
Back
Top