lørdag 10. april 2021

Joe Biden’s US$715 billion defence spending request to counter ‘top challenge’ from China

US President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal will seek US$715 billion for the Pentagon this year, in part to counter the “top challenge” of China. The proposal was the latest signal from the new administration that it sees competition with China as an urgent priority.  “The discretionary request prioritises the need to counter the threat from China as the [Defence] Department’s top challenge,” a summary of the upcoming budget proposal released by the White House on Friday said.

It also listed the “development and testing of hypersonic strike capabilities”, along with investments in “breakthrough technologies that would drive innovation and underpin the development of next-generation defence capabilities”. “Leveraging the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and working together with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, DOD would ensure that the United States builds the concepts, capabilities, and posture necessary to meet these challenges,” the summary said.