Bigger Pentagon budget ‘could challenge China’

The US military would strengthen its presence in the South China Sea if its budget was sharply increased, posing a major security challenge for China, mainland observers have said.

But Beijing would not drastically increase its military expenditures to catch up, they added.

US President Donald Trump has called for a “historic” increase in military spending, reportedly seeking up to US$54 billion – 10 per cent of the current budget – in additional expenditure. This money would largely come from cutting the budget for diplomacy and environmental protection.

Trump told the National Governors Association on Monday that the defence budget would include spending to rebuild the “depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it”.

A US official familiar with the proposal said Trump’s request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, aircraft and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and choke points” such as the South China Sea, according to Reuters.

Trump’s planned expansion is an understandable reaction to a reduction in military spending during the era of former president Barack Obama, and would have an impact on China, according to mainland analysts.

“Trump does take China as one of his major antagonists,” said Song Zhongping, a military affairs commentator from Phoenix TV.