WEDNESDAY PDB – What China's increasing use of military over diplomacy means for US. The change follows a decades-long modernization of China's military to create a “world class” force by 2049. Meanwhile, it has increasingly turned to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as an instrument of statecraft to advance its foreign policy objectives.”
In other words, when China senses a problem abroad, it's now more likely to use the military to solve it. This approach, say Pentagon officials and outside analysts, has been in the works for years and speaks to the PLA's weight class.
The danger? America can't catch up. (RELATED: As American Patriotism Crashes, So Does Confidence In Military)
The US can afford a bigger military. We just can't build it. America's industrial base struggles to ramp up defense production while China's churns out ever more weapons. During a simulated war between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, the wargame ended with Taiwan still free, at grievous cost.
The U.S. loses two aircraft carriers and up to 20 destroyers and cruisers; China sees more than 50 major surface warships sunk.
What looks like a draw, though, becomes a Chinese victory before long. China can replace lost ships far more quickly. In the past two years, its navy has grown by 17 cruisers and destroyers; it would take the U.S. six years to build the same number under current conditions, he said.
“In terms of industrial competition and shipbuilding, China is where the U.S. was in the early stages of World War II.” In the U.S. now, “we just don't have the industrial capacity to build warships…in large numbers very fast.” (RELATED: Biden's Crazy Plan To Let China And Russia Observe US Nuke Tests)
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR
For his actions at Pearl Harbor, he deserves our highest military honor. Dec. 7 marks 82 years since the U.S. was plunged into World War II by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. More than 2,000 Americans were killed that day, but many others were saved by the heroic actions of men like Doris “Dorie” Miller.
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERROR
Hamas savages raped, mutilated and murdered women on 7 October. The BBC has seen and heard evidence of multiple signs of sexual assault, including broken pelvises, bruises, cuts and tears, from the murdered bodies of the victims, and that the victims ranged from children and teenagers to pensioners.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
TOWING THE COMMAND LINE – Political fights aren't discouraging recruits, military recruiters say. An increasingly politicized military is not undermining their pitches to young Americans, they claim, instead, unfamiliarity with military life poses a bigger barrier to efforts in boosting enlistments. (RELATED: Crisis – Unpatriotic, Young White Democrats Are Rejecting Military Service)
POLITICS
Kevin McCarthy resigning from Congress after ouster as House speaker. “I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways,” he wrote.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What can the world expect in 2024? From the Pentagon to Yemen to the South China Sea, defense leaders around the world cover some of the most significant issues for 2024.
Budgets, presidents, and the defense industry: What to watch in 2024. If former President Donald Trump wins, it could alter expectations for U.S. commitments to alliances such as NATO and for support for Ukraine.
STAND TOGETHER OR HANG SEPARATELY – Democracies must stand together on defense. The U.S. and Europe must stick together in the face of multiplying crises.
What would happen if Congress stopped supporting allies under siege? Lawmakers are ignoring the trillion-dollar impact their actions might have — actions that may reverberate over the next 20 years and beyond.
CHINA THREAT
MEANWHILE – China is using US-allied exercises to find ‘soft targets': US Army's Pacific chief. The PRC is on a “very, very dangerous path,” Gen. Charles Flynn said.
Rep. Mike Gallagher previews plans to deter China from invading Taiwan. The chair of the House's China-focused panel discussed ways to deter Beijing in the Taiwan Strait and what's in store for the year ahead.
Resolute Dragon: Reassurance, deterrence, and a call for coordination. The fall is an ideal time for a visit to Taipei — as the military planners for the People's Republic of China plotting a cross-strait invasion know all too well. (RELATED: Is Biden Right About US Defending Taiwan?)
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia is gearing up for a long war. Will the West follow suit? The country has demonstrated a remarkable degree of adaptability to Western sanctions.
Our best look at a Vampire counter drone system for Ukraine. This is the first time we have seen the actual configuration of VAMPIRE, which was rushed to Ukraine to swat drones out of the sky.
IRAN THREAT
USS Mason shoots down another air drone in the Red Sea. The destroyer downed the drone attributed to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday — the latest episode of a U.S. warship intercepting air drones and missiles in the Middle East.
THANKS TO BIDEN REMOVING THEM FROM TERROR LIST – Houthis rise in prominence among Iran's ‘axis of resistance.' The Houthis have also demonstrated an ability to attack international commercial shipping off Yemen's coast.
SPACE THREAT
X-37's next—and 7th—launch could be its last. The Space Force will send its X-37B space plane back into orbit this weekend. But no one is saying when it's due back.
US POWER OVERSEAS
US faces hurdles next year for Guam's missile defense, experts warn. Pentagon leaders say 2024 will be a key year for the Army to bolster defenses around Guam, a critically strategic island in the Indo-Pacific region.
US airborne soldiers in Vicenza area add to big jump in toy haul for Italian kids. St. Nicholas took on the guise of American “sky soldiers” ahead of his usual feast day, as members of the Army's famed 173rd Airborne Brigade became toy distributors for their Italian hosts.
‘Operation Christmas Drop' delivers gifts, goodwill in Guam. The Air Force tradition started more than 70 years ago and is considered the Pentagon's longest-running humanitarian and disaster relief training mission.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Australia's military must prepare for conflict if deterrence fails. Australia cannot rely on mass to deter. It must focus instead on capabilities and partnerships that deliver an asymmetric advantage. (RELATED: Australian Experts Contradict US Counterparts on China, Say US Can't Win Taiwan War)
With new defense agreements, Australia, and France ‘rebuild, reset' relations after AUKUS shock. “France is a power in the Pacific, it's a power in Europe and it's a multilateral power, and this is a very important partnership to Australia,” Australia's Foreign Minister said.
Europe's outliers on Ukraine temper their anti-aid rhetoric. Recently elected leaders in Slovakia and the Netherlands are tempering the anti-Ukraine rhetoric that elevated them to victory during their campaigns, as the stakes of antagonizing their Western allies by halting military support to Kyiv are too high.
US MILITARY
US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft. The announcement comes one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in an Osprey crash off the coast of Japan.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: House Just Punished Criminal Democrat
