(ConservativeHub.com) – On April 5, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee. The hearing was on the 2023 fiscal year budget for the Department of Defense. The men were there to justify the price tag for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which would combat threats from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Milley said there are honest concerns as the world becomes more unstable due to the PRC challenging security in the Pacific. He pushed the current Russia-Ukraine situation to the side, saying the PRC is more of a threat. The general stated the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the biggest menace to keeping the peace.
The Pentagon on Monday released a $773 billion budget request for fiscal year 2023, asking Congress for a big spending boost to build new weapons to curb an emergent Chinese military, check Russia’s aggression in Europe and boost pay for troops.https://t.co/2RTIBheqjc
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) March 28, 2022
Austin testified the PLA has undergone modernization and expansion to allow it to increase its conventional and nuclear abilities. He also noted the PRC is consistently working to undermine the US in global dealings. The secretary explained the Chinese are aggressively pursuing a system in the Indo-Pacific region catering to what they want while also trying to break up alliances the US already has in place in the area.
The two defense officials testified to justify their request for $6 billion in the DOD budget. They said it would help ensure the Indo-Pacific stays free and increase engagement with regional partner countries. Milley also stressed that despite current challenges, war isn’t inevitable. Given the testimony from the DOD and China’s current actions, do you think we should be worried about future conflict.
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